


Baby, You're A Rich Man

by Biracial_Mermaid



Category: Free!
Genre: Con Artist AU, Con Artist!Rin, M/M, Rich Boy!Haru, They do the do around chapter seven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:41:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biracial_Mermaid/pseuds/Biracial_Mermaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin Matsuoka is the leader to a team of con artists, most of which he's known for years; one that just sort of fell into their laps as the eccentric apprentice. Enlisting the help of his sister, who previously swore off flim flamming, Rin plots to steal the Nanase fortune and pay for his early retirement. As with any great story, though, there's a few twists that he doesn't expect at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kinda Outta Luck- Lana Del Rey

“Haruka Nanase,” Rin began, holding up the latest copy of Connect! Magazine, showing off the cover to his half asleep coworkers in the dim morning light of the office space they’d been renting for two years now. Each pair of eyes looked back at him with a dead, tired expression, silently urging him to continue. “He’s never done anything important besides exist and yet he’s still in every tabloid because he’s the heir to the Nanase fortune. His parents have millions. In fact, last year, their company raked in some 5 million dollars. Gentlemen,” his lips pulled into a grin, his narrowed eyes bouncing from teammate to teammate. “I think they can stand to lose a little, don’t you?”

Long ago, Rin had come to realize that the others always came up with their greatest ideas when they were tired because then they seldom filtered any idea as bad from the get go. Still, though, the confused impatience on their faces made him think that perhaps it was just a little _too_ early. Finally, Souske spoke up with an tone that was hardly any nicer than the expression on his frowning lips. “What did you have in mind?”

Rin thought the idea should have been obvious, at least to Souske. He’d been Rin’s partner in crime since their teenage years when they were first learning the game together and his best friend since they were children on the swim team together, just after the Matsuoka family moved to Seattle. Because they’d known each other so long, they seemed to share a brain frequency and for that reason, Souske almost always caught onto Rin’s musings or ideas without him having to blatantly say so.

Crimson eyes pleaded with teal irises. _Please, Souske, don’t make me spell it out this morning._ His friend was still waiting on an answer from Rin, who wished he’d chosen a different day to be the most tired in the office.

 _Make that second most tired_ , Rin thought silently as Momotarou, or just Momo, let his head slam onto the table just before he jolted upright in his chair with a loud, unattractive snort. In most ways he resembled his brother and Rin’s late mentor, but it was still painfully obvious that the kind of talent Seijuro had didn’t run in the family.

“Someone please get him a coffee,” Rin sighed, tossing the magazine in his hand onto the table, leaving his hand free to rub his temples in annoyance. Maybe Souske was right and it really was too early for this bullshit. Nitori stood and Momo protested, insisting that he didn’t need coffee, he isn’t so wimpy that he has to wake himself up with caffeine, he isn’t tired at all, he was just resting his eyes, this is discrimination against gingers, he’ll sue damnit-

“Shut up, already. The sun’s coming up and I haven’t even begun to explain this to you idiots.” Something in his voice must have been laced with poison because shortly after saying it, everyone’s lips are pressed together. He takes a moment to bask in the silence. It’s rare that everyone’s quiet.

“It‘s so simple,” he finally breathes. “We need to set him up.”

“Well yes, Rin, we are _con_ men, after all.” Souske yawns, leaving Rin with another deep, hopeless sigh.

“I mean we need to set him up romantically. We need to get him married to one of us, then we’ll have someone on the inside. Come on, think about it. Make him fall in love, make sure he doesn’t sign a prenup and then-”

“Rin, we’re con _men._ How can you be sure he’s gay?”

“He isn’t. Remember that little stint he had last year with that pop star?” it had been a rather well known event, talked about for months. They’d hooked up once, she swore he got her pregnant, and then when the baby came out it was black as opposed to Japanese. For a while, though, Haruka seemed more than convinced to the tabloids, meaning he had to have slept with her at some point.

Nitori raised an eyebrow skeptically and leaned forward onto the table with his elbows. “Rin, if he isn’t gay, how are we going to make him fall in love with one of us? This plan doesn’t sound like it’s going to work. Even if we do find a girl who’s willing-”

“Who said anything about finding a girl?” Rin teased, offering a playful grin to his friend. “We can just dress you up in a wig and heels.”

“Rin!” Nitori gasped, eyes widening. Even in the pale light of the morning, Rin could see the blush on his cheeks. As if he’d really subject the kid to that.

“Calm down, I’m only joking.” he laughs gently, leaning against the table with his arms crossed. Beside him, his best friend interjects once again.

“See, there’s a hole in your theory. We can’t exactly ask random girls on the street if they want to break the law. It’s gotta be someone we know and trust. You understand, right?”

Had it been to anyone outside of this room, Souske would come off as a raging asshole. But Rin had known him since they were children, they’d shared beds together and knew each other’s families as well as their own. He could tell when Souske was just trying to figure out all the holes in one specific part of every plan. It was this cutthroat attitude that made him one half of the mastermind behind this team where each person had their own roles. Souske was the best with slight of hand interactions. Nitori was the best at gaining pity, with his tiny build and girly voice most people were reminded of a child by him. Momo hadn’t been around long enough for anyone to know what he was really good at and Rin had the looks and know how to charm the pants off of a snake. In all, the team worked pretty well together.

Rin nodded silently, letting his head loll back to stare at the ceiling of their city building office that only they and the landlord knew about. “Hm,” he hummed in thought, crossing his arms over his chest. Before an entire minute was up, an idea crawled it’s way into his head and made him grimace. God, he hated to do this, he hated to even think about doing this, but if he wanted to retire, it had to be done. “What about Gou?”

As soon as he spoke, all eyes were on him. Everyone was silent and he had a feeling that they were going to flat out refuse to work with her. The silence was disrupted by Momo‘s sleep filled voice.

“Whossat?” he questioned, tipping his head to the side. He doesn’t get the chance to answer because Nitori does it for him.

“Gou is Rin’s baby sister.”

“If she’s a baby, how can she be expected to-”

“She isn’t actually a baby, you numbskull. She‘s 21, two years younger than me.” Rin remarked with an eye roll, though he seemed to have piqued the redhead's interest.

“Is she cute?”

“Please, for the love of all that is holy, shut up.”

It got quiet after that, and Rin couldn’t possibly be more thankful. “We just have to convince her to do this for us.”

Souske was the first to burst his bubble. “You know that won’t be easy. She said-”

“I know what she said,” Rin interrupted. “I just… I have to convince her.” When they were younger, Gou practically worshiped the ground Rin walked on. She followed him everywhere. When he joined the community swimming club, she demanded that she get to join, too. When he became a matchstick man, she demanded that he teach her what he knew. Unfortunately, after a year or so of rolling with her brother and his associates, she left. She said she wasn’t cut out for it, became a receptionist for some sexist business executive and that was that. Even so, Rin knew that somewhere, deep down, there was still that little girl with bright eyes and pigtails who would follow him into the dark. He just had to sweeten her up to find it.


	2. If It Means A Lot To You- A Day To Remember

“John Thompson’s office.” Gou picks up after the first ring. Business must be slow if she was that fast about it.

“What even is it that you sell there?” Rin asks with an amused grin that Gou can’t see. He can’t see her either, but when she speaks he can just imagine how flustered the girl must be.

“Rin?!” she hisses in a hushed whisper. “What are you doing, I am at _work_!”

“Obviously. I’m calling your work number, aren’t I?” She huffs into the receiver and after a few moments, speaks again.

“What is it? This had better be important, if my boss catches me on a personal call, I’ll-”

“Gou, we need you.” Straight and to the point. While it may take her a few minutes, she would eventually find out that he was buttering her up the other way and wouldn’t be happy. Bluntness was better when it came to Gou. “I need you. When do you get off for lunch?”

He can hear his sister take a slow breath, then stay quiet as if she’s thinking. She probably is. “I take my break in a half hour. Meet me here. And _don’t_ even think about being late,” she drops her voice to an almost whisper. “Boss guy’s a total perv, I don’t want to be subjected to that longer than I need to be.”

“Yeah I got you, Kiddo. Be there in 30.” With that, Rin hangs up, happy that it went well. It could have gone much, much worse, he tells himself as he starts walking to the office Gou’s worked in for months on end. He’s heard enough horror stories about the man she works for. She says he's English and richer than God, and Rin has half a mind to rip him off, too. He doesn’t for Gou’s sake. If he were to get caught, it’d be her ass and not his and he won’t do that to his kid sister, no matter how unhappy her job makes her.

This is the first time he’s actually seen Gou’s office. She has her own desk, right in the sight of the boss’ window. So no privacy at all then. It’s disgusting, he thinks, that some fucker pays his sister to look pretty and run all of his errands for him like the incompetent child he probably is.

“Rin!” she happily greets, standing up and rushing over to throw her arms around him in an affectionate hug. He lets it happen, though it’s not as enthusiastic as it probably should be. “Ten bucks says he's walking over right now,” she mutters in an almost whisper, squeezing his shoulders gently.

Rin looks up just in time to see a short, balding man with a nose too big for his face hurry from the office door. “Yep,” he whispers back just before Gou separates and forces a bright smile.

“Mr. Thomson!”

“Good afternoon, Gou, is this your boyfriend?” he defensively asks, eyeing Rin up and down as if he’s ready to go rounds with him. _Is his crush on Gou really that intense,_ Rin thinks to himself. Beside him, he hears his sister laugh and it sounds as fake as her smile looks.

“Oh, gosh, no! This is my older brother, Rin!”

The man relaxes at that, though he still watches Rin suspiciously as he extends a hand. “Nice to meet you, Rin.”

“The pleasure is mine, sir.” he says with a smile. It takes all he has to tip his head and maintain an almost impressed facial expression. “Gou’s told me a _lot_ about you.” As soon as he says it, Gou tugs on his hair behind his ear.

“Oh,” the man says, lips curling into a smug, catlike grin. “All good things, I hope.”

“Things you would not believe. Unfortunately, neither of us can stay for too much longer. Lunch with our parents from out of town, you see. I hope you understand.”

“Of course, Mr. Matsuoka. You kids have a nice lunch now, take all the time you need.”

“Will do. Have a nice day.” And before Mr. Thomson has a chance to say anything else, Rin’s tugging Gou out of the door and onto the sidewalk.

“Mom and dad are coming? Is that what you meant by ‘ _we_ need you?’” she asks as soon as they hit the city air. It isn’t fresh air, not by a long shot, but it’s a lot more refreshing than the stuffy office air that smells like Mr. Thomson’s toupee. Rin shakes his head and links his arm with Gou’s to lead her down the street.

“Of course not,” he answers with a small laugh. “But notice how he said you could take as much time as you want.” She opens her mouth to argue, then shuts it.

“Hmph. So I take it you mean…”

“The group? Yeah.”

“I’m not doing anything with you guys, I hope you know.” she protests immediately. “I like my life! I mean, sure, my job is really shitty but that’s just how things are in the real world. It’s comfortable. I don’t have to worry about being arrested every other day.”

“We rarely ever do anything _too_ illegal,” Rin protests with a frown. “People _give_ us their money, it isn’t like we’re actually stealing it.”

“You’re misleading them! That’s just as bad as stealing!”

“Gou, do you remember the first con that I taught you?” he asks in a voice so soft, Gou can almost sense the heartwarming Lifetime movie moment. Raising an eyebrow suspiciously, she glances up to her brother.

“The one with the lottery ticket?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, shaking his head. “You were so impressed. You were thrilled. God, you didn’t come down from that adrenaline high for hours. You remember that?”

“Of course I remember,” she says. It was true. That day, she had felt so accomplished, so excited, so bad ass that she shook with anticipation to do it again. “But that was before I realized it was completely illegal.”

“What if I told you that you could feel like that again, and this time it won’t be illegal at all. You’ll just be doing your big brother a favor. Besides,” he pauses to open the door to a notoriously overpriced café. “your payout would be more than enough to quit that stupid job of yours.”

Gou eyes him for a moment as she steps into the café, ignoring the greeting called out by the cashier. Her gaze is hard against Rin’s own. She has a small wrinkle between her furrowed brows and a small, serious frown on her lips.

“Please, Gou.” he mutters. He sees her determined look falter the slightest bit before she sighs and hangs her head.

“Jesus Christ. Hypothetically speaking, what would I have to do?”

Getting her to listen to him was difficult, but the hardest part, he knows, is going to be getting her to _agree_ with this plan. As they take their seats, he pulls the magazine from his coat pocket, flattens it out, then slides it to his sister. She reads the cover, then widens her eyes and looks to Rin.

“You want to flim flam a celebrity?! The paparazzi will be all over that!”

“Nothing too bad,” he lies. Two million is a lot, after all. “We just need to find someone who can impress his parents and him at the same time. Someone they would let him marry and someone he wants to marry. Someone who is smart enough not to sign a prenup. Someone who-”

“Someone who can smoothly talk him out of thousands and then divorce him once the money’s secure? I love you, Rin but I’m not that good of an actress. That’s why I ditched. I’m not cut out for it. You’ll have to find another girl.”

“All you have to do is act ladylike to his parents, flirt behind their backs, and then sign a few slips of paper that says you own half of his shit. That’s it. There’s no acting involved, really, just flirting and I just saw you with that fat boss of yours, you can flirt.”

“That’s to keep my job!”

“Then just look at this as another day at the office. Gou,” he sighs and reaches across the table to take her hand gingerly. “I want to retire. I want to live a happy, quiet life that doesn’t involve all of this bull-fuckery. Maybe even meet a nice guy and settle down. This is exactly the break I need for that kind of life.”

He watches his sister’s face soften even more and she sighs, as though she knows she’s been defeated.

“Fine,” she agrees, glancing to the side. “But my payout better be worth it.”

“Isn’t seeing your dear older brother happy payment enough?”

“Rin!”

“I’m kidding,” he laughs at her whine. “Really, it will be. You’ll have enough to live at least a decade in comfort.” She nods, as if she likes the sounds of that, and removes her hand from Rin’s grasp to hold it out to him.

“Shake on it?”

Rin nods and takes her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “Let’s get you back to the office, then, Mrs. Nanase.”

“Ugh, don’t start that yet, we don’t know if it’s even gonna work.”

And then they’re gone. They pay for the meal and head out towards the sidewalk again, taking a sharp left in the opposite direction of Mr. Thomson’s office. “Hey, which office are we going back to?” Gou asks, though she already knows the answer.

It isn’t too far of a walk, surprisingly close for how little contact the two have with each other, though with the summer heat beating down on them it’s enough to frazzle Gou. As soon as they step foot in the office, she’s panting from the walk up the stairs.

“I need to get in shape,” she wheezes, slicking back the strands of stray hair that fell from her ponytail. When she stands, though, someone she doesn’t even know is watching her with his mouth agape. “Uh-”

“Oh my god, close your mouth. Have some respect,” Rin grunts at the boy. “Gou, this is Momo. He’s Mikoshiba’s younger brother.”

“Ah,” she says just as her breathing normalizes with the air conditioned ventilation. “I thought he looked familiar with the drool and everything.” she jokes. Everyone chuckles softly, though Momo laughs just a little too loud, like Gou was a comedy mastermind. She can’t help but think oh great, he’s just like his brother but dorkier.

Souske stands up and offers the girl a warm smile and tight hug. “Hey there, girly. Miss me?”

“As much as I missed my brother,” she responds, happily leaning into his embrace. “You were supposed to remind him to call me once in a while.” Souske had always been like a brother to her and Rin, so when she parted ways with the group she told him in particular to keep on Rin’s ass about the phone calls.

“Yeah,” he hums with a small laugh lacing his voice. “Rin’s a stubborn procrastinator. You know that.”

“Damn right I do,” Gou laughs, giving Souske one last squeeze before pulling away. Nitori’s the next one to pull her into a hug, muttering a quick greeting of how great it is to see her again. That was how their relationship was, mostly. They said little to one another but it was still enough to maintain an understanding friendship.

Just as Gou was about to take a seat, the younger redhead was in front of her. “Can I have a hug, too?” God, this kid was excitable in the way he spoke, with his expressions and body movements. He acted as though everything that was said and done by him or anyone was vital information he should react dramatically to.

“Well- uh-”

“Everyone sit down, we need to start teaching Gou how to act around Mr. and Mrs. Nanase.” It’s unspoken, but everyone (aside from Momo, maybe) knows that Gou’s going to have to do a lot more learning than that. Nitori remembers that she isn’t the best liar, Souske remembers that she’s not so good at remembering tasks at hand and Rin remembers that she has a tenancy to get too personal with her targets.

That’s no way to live, he thinks.


	3. Your Heart is An Empty Room- Death Cab For Cutie

“Remind me why I’m doing this for you again,” Gou demanded, trying to adjust the itchy, blue fabric that clung far too tightly to her curves, though she would admit that at the cost of her comfort, the dress did accentuate them nicely and showed off her legs that looked much longer in the black pumps she wore on her feet. “Can’t we go with shorter shoes?” 

“I think you look amazing, Gou.” Momo offered, earning a sneer from Rin. 

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter if we think it looks good, it matters if he thinks it looks good.” he reminded the boy, who gave an understanding nod. “And Gou, you have to deal with the shoes.” 

“Ugh, but I-”

“Remember the deal, you shook on it.” She grunts at him for reminding her, but goes along with it nonetheless. 

“Alright, alright, when do I take off to go see him?” she complained, trying to pull the dress down a little bit lower. 

“We,” Rin corrected. “take off in about five minutes so you can meet his parents. I’m the driver tonight.” Gou nodded in understanding before making her way to the front door. 

“And you’re going to be there the entire time, right?” Just in case she fucks up. Just in case she gets star struck. Just in case. Rin nods in confirmation. 

“Of course. Come on, let’s head out now.” His hand rests gently on her shoulder as he leads her to the car, a rental Cadillac to keep up the appearance of being from a wealthy family. Only when she shuts her door do the other three stop calling out a million and one “good luck”s to her. 

 

Rin started the car and they drove down the road. Gou didn’t pay much attention to the scenery they pass until it suddenly fades from the slums of downtown to the pristine, sparkling mansions of the wealthy. “Wow,” she breathed in wonderment, watching every colossal house that passed her by before she could get a good look at it. When Rin noticed how she strived to study every feature, he slowed the slightest bit. Gou was more than thankful, but before she could voice her gratitude, the car came to a complete stop. 

“Alright,” Rin said, sitting straight. “your name for tonight, and possibly the next few months, is Kou.” 

“You mean I can finally start being addressed the way I’ve been asking since middle school?”

“This is serious. You’re Kou Amakata, of the New York Amakatas. Come fall, you’re going to Harvard. Repeat that back to me.” 

“Rin, I’ve been practicing for a week, I’m sure I’ll do fine.” 

Her brother’s eyes softened as he gave a small, reassuring smile. “I know you will. Go in there and catch a rich boy.” Just as her fingers curl around the door handle, Rin stops her. “Oh, and Gou, if anything happens I want you to ditch the heels and haul ass back here. Understood?” 

Gou hadn’t seen Rin express palpable concern since they were both young, so she simply nodded and offered a positive grin. “Of course, Rin.” she said just as she dismissed herself out of the car and up the porch steps. More than once or twice, she caught herself before she could trip in her heels. As soon as she knocked on the door, a butler asked her name and business, then ushered her into the sitting room where a distinguished couple sat on a loveseat across from a young man, Haruka presumably, who looked apathetic to whatever they said to him. The older man is the first to speak. 

 

“Welcome, miss… uh…” 

“Kou M- Amakata.” she hurried, curtseying the slightest bit. “Very nice to meet you.” 

“The pleasure is ours,” Mrs. Nanase responded dismissively, though she studied Gou like a vulture. “Asian?” 

“I don’t know, I actually think the restaurant is French-”

“She means you.” Haruka corrects in a deadpan. 

“Oh! Yeah, my parents are from Tokyo.” She took a second to congratulate herself for lying so smoothly before realizing they wanted her to continue. “U- uh, but I was raised here. In New York, actually. We-” 

“So you’re eastern.” The tone in Mr. Nanase’s voice was less than impressed. “You don’t have an accent.” 

Shit. 

“We- well, I’ve been here in California for quite a while, Sir. I actually read somewhere that when you spend enough time around certain accents and mannerisms that you begin to take them on yourself. That’s how babies and children learn how to speak the way they do. Just like if you curse in front o-”

“We have a date,” Haruka said as he stood, taking Gou by the hand. “I don’t intend on spending it in the living room. Goodnight mother, father.” They called a half assed goodnight as Haruka pulled her out of the door. She was silently thankful and forced a deep breath as soon as they step onto the porch. 

“Thank you, that was a train wreck,” They’re alone now, and that’s the time that Rin said was best for her to try seducing him. “So, you’re eager for this date, too?”

“No,” he answers, walking towards the car. “I just couldn’t stand watching you babble on about babies. Before you know it, they’ll start babbling about them too.” 

“So you aren’t excited?” she asked, feigning a disappointed pout, hoping to shield the panic of fucking this con up. 

“Dates stop being fun when you go on them every day of the week. At this point it’s more like a job interview.” Gou nodded, then leaned back in her seat. She hoped Rin could hear them, so he’d know that it wasn’t her fault if this failed. 

The rest of the drive was silent until they pulled up to the restaurant. Haruka climbed out and offered his hand to Gou, which she took to pull herself out. He led her inside and for the second time that night, Gou found herself breathless by the grace and class of the wealthy. 

Everywhere she turned there were decorations that intricately wound into one another, the finest gold colored paint in exact details over the crimson red walls. The tables were covered with the softest virgin white cloth and as far as she can see, the plates people eat from around her look more like they deserve to be in a museum instead of an eating establishment. 

“So,” she says after taking a seat and finding her vocabulary again. “Haruka-”

“Just Haru’s fine.” he interrupts, watching Gou with a disinterested, vacant look in his eye. 

“Alright… Haru. What sort of things do you like to do?” 

“The most generic question for a date there is. I like swimming a lot, I guess.”

“Oh, so does my brother!” Gou knows better than to say anything personal about her life while doing a job, but she hopes this is something they can build common ground on. 

“Interesting. Do you swim?” Haru asks. For the first time, he seems genuinely interested. 

“Ah- I used to. When I was younger I did but I almost drowned and I haven’t been able to go in water since.” 

“The water’s alive, you know.” Haru says. Oh great, so he’s fucking insane. “Once you’re in it’ll bare it’s fangs and attack, but there’s nothing to fear. Just don’t resist it. You’ve got to carve an opening for yourself and push yourself through that opening. It sounds strange, but that’s what my grandmother taught me when I was first learning. It helped.” 

It was the most conversing he’d done since she met him, and it was about water. “You really do like swimming, huh?” 

“Yeah.” She waits a few seconds before she says anything. 

“So what else do you-”

“Nothing else, really. I like water and that’s about it.” 

“So you don’t like music or television or-”

“Look, I’m sorry but I’m not interested in getting married or anything. That’s just what my parents want for me,” Haru interrupts before standing, fishing some cash from his wallet. “I’d be happy to pay for your dinner but-” 

“Okay,” Gou says as her hands writhe angrily under the table. I told them I’m no good at this. “I get that. I understand. But my parents are pushing me into this too, and if I go home before 10 pm, there’s gonna be hell to pay so please,” she pleads, hoping that she doesn’t fuck this entire operation up. “Please let me take you to the movies or the beach or-”

“The beach?” She should have seen it coming. She should have known that as soon as she mentioned a large body of water, he’d be all too willing to let her take him. She stood as well and started to the door. “Well, come on, then.” 

But Haru’s hand circled her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. “No,” he said. “They’re out there by now.” 

“Who?” 

“The vultures with the cameras. Unless you want your face plastered all over the place, you’ll come out the back with me.” 

 

In any other circumstance, Gou would jump at the chance, but she had a cover to keep. She read gossip magazines frequently and she knew how much dirt they could dig up on someone. For that reason, she nodded and followed him through the kitchen. When they turned the corner to get back to Gou’s car, the crowd of paparazzi had pretty much consumed it. 

“Oh… Well maybe we could-”

“We can’t get past them. We can walk, though.” Haru said simply. “It’s only a block or so away.” 

It’s an uncomfortable walk, one that Gou takes her shoes off as soon as she can during, but they make it to the shore without too much difficulty. As soon as they’re there, Haru slips his shirt off and jumps into the ocean. 

Gou watches him for the better part of two hours until he finally crawls out and sits on the sand beside her. “So, Haru,” she says, watching the way his muscles move under his skin. “Why don’t you want to marry?” 

“I never said I didn’t want to marry, I said that I wasn’t interested in the idea right now.” 

“If you aren’t totally opposed to the idea, why aren’t you accepting any of the girls your parents offer?” The glint in his eye and the almost nonexistent smirk on his lips throws her off. His face is usually a blank slate, but he looks amused.

“Do you want to know a secret?”


	4. Honestly- Dommin

“Where the hell were you?!” Rin demanded as soon as Gou stepped foot in the office. For hours, he’d been a nervous wreck, his sister had taken off during a job and wouldn’t answer his calls. “Two hours! Two entire hours I tried calling you and why the fuck-”

“I can’t do the job you want me to do.” 

Rin froze, then. Gou didn’t move from her spot in the doorway, kept her eyes glued to her brother with a harsh determination as he tried to tell himself that he misheard her. “Why not? God, you like him. You like him! I can’t believe I thought I could trust-”

“He’s gay.” Gou interjected with a frown, effectively bringing her brother’s babbling to a halt. Behind him, Rin can hear his teammates’ deflated sighs of defeat. He lets out a harsh breath and takes his own seat. 

“Fuck. The whole plan is fucked. It’s ruined. Goodbye, early retirement, it was nice know- Wait, what about that scandal last year?” 

“Publicity stunt.” Gou answered, calmly taking the seat across from her brother. “They’re very good friends and planned the entire thing.” Everyone seems to hum, as if it suddenly made more sense to them, though Momo obviously made a different observation than the rest. 

“It makes sense that he’s gay, since he didn’t instantly want to marry Gou-”

“Momo, stop-”

“Both of you stop,” Gou interrupts with a frown. “I have an idea that can save this entire operation. Rin can just take my place.”

“Excuse me?” 

“Yeah,” Momo perks with a grin. “You’re the seductress of the group, right?”

“I don’t think it’s a seductress if it’s a guy,” Gou corrected, crossing her arms above the blue fabric taught against her chest. “But he has a point. He’s gay, big deal, having you do it would have the same effect, right?” 

Rin gave the thought a chance and found himself frowning to himself. Him, get involved? He was supposed to operate completely behind the scenes for this one. 

“Okay, say I do it. Say I’m willing to get involved with Haruka-”

“He prefers to be called Haru.”

“Okay, say I got involved with Haru. What would his parents think?” 

“They don’t really care,” Gou mumbled, remembering the conversation the pair had had on the beach, watching the waves gently caress their skin. “They say as long as he’s married and eventually finds a way to have kids, they can pass the business on to him and they don’t care.” 

“We’re both men, Gou. You see, in order to have babies-” 

“Okay, shark week, shut up! I’ve had the talk before, and what I meant was that you can tell his parents you plan to hire a surrogate or something…” Rin’s proud that his sister had already thought of that, and nods gently. 

“Alright, genius, how do you purpose I go about meeting him? We can’t pull off asking his parents to set up a date again, especially when I was the one who set it up last time.” 

“He’s going to the pool tomorrow. You can accidentally meet him there, I know you know how to pull that off.” God, Rin thought, it’s almost like she has it completely planned out. The thought made his heart swell with affection and pride. His baby sister /was/ like him after all. 

“Alright.” he agreed with a nod. “I’ll do it.” A cheer resounded through the office, from the deep tone of Souske to Gou’s shrill yelp of ‘hooray’ and ‘yeah’. 

The (nearly uncalled for) celebration carried the group into a bar, dimly lit and seedy without too much crowd. Some country song that none were really familiar with played softly over the speakers in each corner surrounding them as they took their seats at a table. 

“So really,” Rin laughed as Nitori slid in front of him, a glass of amber liquid in hand. “I don’t understand why we all just /had/ to go out and celebrate this.” 

“Because,” Souske responded from his left, smiling warmly to his best friend. A large hand rested on Rin’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. “This is probably the last time we’ll get to celebrate before a job.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“We already know.” Nitori piped up, pressing his lips into a tight line. “You’re retiring after this.” The way he spoke, the way he watched Rin with a certain melancholy, the sadness in his tone, sent Rin’s stomach into a guilty churn. His grey haired friend looked betrayed. 

 

“I…” Rin breathed, taking in the facial expressions of everyone around him. Even Momo had taken his attention from Gou to watch him with an almost abandoned gaze. “You assholes! You act as if I’m going to leave and never speak to you again.” 

“That’s what Seijuro did,” Gou muttered, averting her gaze to the alcohol in her half empty glass. Rin glanced to his sister, watching the way her face had fallen. It was true, Momo’s brother had taken off with his share of their last job together and said nothing. He’d simply disappeared. Much like Momotarou, he’d instantly fallen for Gou, so it came as a surprise when he vanished without saying anything to anyone. A month later Rin, Souske and Nitori got a call from their mentor’s younger brother saying he’d just gotten the news of Seijuro’s death in a car accident. 

It was understandable that Gou still felt a little bitter. Hell, Rin would be lying if he said he didn’t. Someone who had taught him all he knew had taken off on his team without a goodbye that none of them would get. 

The song shifted during the long lived silence and Rin turned to take Gou’s hands. “I know he did.” he said simply. Once her face had softened and he was positive of her undivided attention, he continued in a softer voice. “But you’re my kid sister and this is my team. I’m not Seijuro. I couldn’t walk away completely without feeling like part of me was missing. You’re my family. Don’t ever think I’ll be too far away.” 

The speech must have gotten to her, because Gou’s lips formed a gentle smile. With a nod, she wrapped her arms around Rin and pulled him into a tight hug. Wordlessly, the siblings held the embrace until Momo slid into the seat beside her. “So after this do you-” 

“You heard him, we’re like family.” Gou interrupted, earning a laugh from everyone who had witnessed the scene. Separating from the hug, Rin laughed gently. 

“That was awful timing to flirt with my sister, you know.” Rin huffed, lifting his drink to his lips to take a sip. Souske laughed in agreement and stood. 

“Hey. Let’s toast.” 

“Isn’t that generally reserved for dinner parties and Irish family gatherings?” 

“Momo, shut up. I wanna toast to Rin’s upcoming retirement.” The uncomfortable feeling of everyone’s gaze hit the redhead like a ton of bricks. He was never a very good public speaker because of this exact feeling. He was the center of attention now, and he realized that he’d have to get used to it if he was going to shack up with Haruka Nanase. Forcing a smile, he nodded to Souske to continue.

“The team won’t be the same without you, but I’ll be damned if any of us hold you back for that reason. We’re big kids, Rin. We can take care of ourselves. Here’s to a happy future that I know we’ll still be involved in.” The speech was kind and Rin knew he meant well, yet he still couldn’t shake the faint feeling of guilt, that he really was abandoning them. That was crazy, he silently insisted. He’d be right there for each and every one of them. 

He was not Seijuro.


	5. Handsome Devil- The Smiths

Rin hadn’t swam since he was a teenager. Someone, a wise old woman he’d met once and would never meet again, once told him that when you’re ten they call you a prodigy. When you’re fifteen they call you a genius. Once you hit twenty, you’re just an ordinary person. His dream had been to swim in the Olympics, to win tons of gold medals for his country but after his teenage years he found he just didn’t have the drive to do it anymore. He found that he didn’t have the mental or emotional strength to get any gold medals and before he knew it, he was ordinary. 

Stepping into his bathing suit and pulling the elastic fabric to his waist, Rin stepped out of the stall and into the locker room, eyeing the rest of the men passing through. One of them had to be Haruka. Seconds passed and Rin had studied every face in the room. None of them were the right face shape or had the right nose or hair color. 

Deciding that his target was probably already in the water, he padded his bare feet into the pool. Thankfully, it wasn’t crowded. Between a few children and young men fawning over the girls in their swimming suits, Haru had just finished a lap; Rin noticed him just as he broke the surface, gasping once and then adopting an apathetic expression. Was he always like this? 

After talking himself into the notion that perhaps the other was just bored without having someone to talk to, Rin started over with a confident swagger. To his left, some girl in a bikini whispered to her friend about the ‘built redhead’. Behind him, some meathead watched him pass and then scoffed. He didn’t pay them any attention. They weren’t his targets. 

“You’re really fast,” he said simply, kneeling down to catch Haruka’s eye. Sapphire irises met his own, the only thing visible above water other than his mess of shiny black hair. Rin held his stare, refusing to look away. When the other male didn’t respond, he offered a hand, hoping he wasn’t the unbearably snobbish type. “I’m Rin.” 

“I don’t care about my time.” he said in response, hoisting himself out of the pool. Rin took a step back and forced a laugh, though Haruka didn’t seem to be joking. What kind of idiot swam without caring about his time? Speed was everything in competitive swimming. “What do you want, anyway? An autograph? Picture?” 

“Why would I want any of that?” Rin asked, playing the role of clueless. “All I wanna do is swim. I used to be the best when I was a kid. Fastest around. I could probably even beat you.” 

“I already said, I don’t care about my time.” 

It was like trying to cut into a stone with nothing but a butter knife. Haruka’s cold, bored eyes told him that this wasn’t going to be an easy job; but he wanted to leave with a bit of a challenge anyway. “Right, but wouldn’t a little race be fun? I bet you’d kick ass at butterfly.” 

“I only swim free,” came Haruka’s short reply. His eyes may have been almost dead, but Rin could see the obvious flicker of curiosity as his pretty blue eyes ran over his body, taking in the details he would remember when telling his friends about that cocky redhead he met at the pool; as long as everything went right that is. 

Those intensely azure hues were off of Rin’s body before he could make a remark about it. Haruka took a step to the side and grabbed a bleach white towel to rub over his shaggy black hair. Rin’s eyes took the moment to study his subject. He had the perfect abs, rippling just slightly and disappearing under the black and purple spandex of his bathing suit. When he squinted lightly, he could catch the ghost of Haru’s happy trail. 

Rin was glad he was attractive. At least he wouldn’t be spending months with someone whose face he couldn’t stomach. A small voice in the back of his head nagged him, saying that he would only be spending time with Haruka if he actually managed to play his cards right. Usually seducing someone was no problem, but this particular male seemed to be dead set against dating (or even paying attention to people who gave him attention). 

When the towel was removed from Haru’s head, placed around his neck, he raised an eyebrow to the redhead. “Is there a reason you’re still here?” Somehow the flat tone gave Rin the feeling that he wasn’t trying to be a prick, he was just honestly wondering why Rin was still standing there like an idiot. 

“Race me.” 

“I’ve already told you, I only swim-” 

“Only swim free, right? I’ll swim free too, if it makes you feel better.” Haruka turned his head, gaze locking with the pool. He seemed undecided, Rin realized. Maybe it was because- 

“The pool’s temperature was perfect today. I might as well not take that for granted.” 

What the hell was this guy on about? Forcing away the confused grimace he felt coming on, Rin beamed and nodded. “See, that’s the spirit! Come on, let’s race… er… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your na-” 

Before he could finish, Haruka had dived into the water. Rin nearly yelled out (in a totally playful-and-not-at-all-angry tone, of course) that the action was unfair until he realized Haru wasn’t being competitive. He was simply swimming, enjoying the water that engulfed him. 

It confused Rin to no end. Haruka didn’t care about his speed, he didn’t want to race. He was content with only being in the water. This man was a mystery, nothing like the other targets he’d had before. This one was difficult, an unpenetrative fortress wrapped in an enigma. He had no interest in Rin, something the redhead wasn’t used to, only in his own devices. If it didn’t interfere with his job, Rin would have found it comforting. 

Rin dove into the lane beside Haruka and when he came back up for air, the raven haired male was watching him again. “Your form is perfect.” he complimented in the same deadpan tone he’d held since Rin began speaking to him. 

That was the opening Rin needed. Pulling a sheepishly accomplished grin onto his face, Rin tipped his head to the side. “Really?” Haruka merely nodded in response. 

“Yeah. I used to be on a swimming team in high school. Not too many people can achieve that kind of grace when they get in the water.” 

“You certainly did, you looked beautiful.” When Haruka rolled his eyes and made off to swim away, Rin forced himself through the water to keep up. “Hey, hey, wait. I’m sorry. I just…” he paused and forced a sheepish pout, running his hand over the curve of his own shoulder then to his neck, back down again in hopes that Haruka’s eyes would follow. “That was stupid. I’m sorry. I never caught your name, by the way.” 

Haruka’s eyes watched Rin’s face with the heavily obvious shade of suspicion. “It’s Haru.” he replied, crossing his arms. That’s right, Rin thought, Gou mentioned he had a nickname. 

“I’m-”

“Rin. You already said.”

“I suppose you’re right.” he muttered in a feigned apologetic chuckle. So Haru remembered his name, that was a start. Haru went under the buoys separating the lanes and came back up in front of Rin. God, this guy had no sense of personal space, did he? 

“Do you really have no idea who I am?” Of course Rin knew who he was. There probably wasn’t a human being in America who didn’t know who Haruka Nanase was or what he was up to. Nonetheless, Rin forced another sheepish smile and shook his head. 

“Should I? Are you like an actor or something?” 

“I’m not an actor.” Haru said simply before he started swimming back to the ledge of the pool. Rin followed along and watched as Haru pulled himself out, moving for the towel again. Crossing his arms on the ridge of the pool he looked up at Haru, who looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. 

“Well?”

“Well, what?” 

“Aren’t you going to climb out of the pool and get my number?” In response, Rin grinned and pulled himself from the water. 

He'd done it. Rin had done it. He'd managed to get Haru's number, and the excited feeling of accomplishment made him want to swim again.


	6. Brand New Key- Melanie (Safka)

Roughly, Gou wondered, how long had Rin been at the pool? Pacing nervously from one side of the office to the other, Gou bit the nails of her left hand. It was a filthy, disgusting habit, she knew, but she was too anxious to stop herself. What if the plan had gone wrong? What if Haru called his bluff and called the cops? Was this even illegal? What if he realized she and Rin were related? 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Momo called to her. He was the only one in the office with her. Souske was shopping for what he’d deemed ‘rich people clothes’ and Nitori was out on another con, some simple job that had to do with asking people for gas money. Momo was the only one who offered to stay until Rin got back. 

“Do you know? Are you completely sure? I’m just guessing, but you know just as much as me,” Gou snapped, turning sharply to face the other redhead. When she shouted, his mouth dropped in surprise, eyes widening and she felt bad. 

“Well,” he started, standing up. Taking a wary step towards the girl, he shuffled his feet lightly. “I can tell you that I know Rin. He’s smart, smart enough to get out of any tough situation, and more than that he’s really good at what he does.” 

She nodded lightly and sighed. “Yeah,” she breathed, hanging her head. “You’re right. I’m sorry for yelling, I’m just worried about him.” 

“You shouldn’t be,” he assured, smiling warmly as he placed his hands on her cheeks, guiding her face to look at his. “He’s fine. Just calm down.” His eyes caught hers and she felt a sudden shortness of breath comparable to having her lungs squeezed. 

His smile began to fade, his eyes dimming slightly as they caught sight of Gou’s lips. She had to put her foot down and stop him, she knew, but her body made no movements. 

“Nailed it!” Rin yelled as he entered. The spell between the two was broken and Gou and Momo jumped apart hastily, stopping Rin in his tracks. “What were you two doing?” 

“That doesn’t matter!” Gou hurried, face red with embarrassment. “Tell me everything, starting with why you were gone so long!” 

“He’s a stubborn little shit,” Rin began, forgetting the entire scene he’d walked into, ignoring the way his sister blushed and his apprentice sat in his seat now, silently hiding his face. “Got his number, then talked some more. Long story short, we have a date in two days.” 

“Where are you going with him?”

“Okay, don’t laugh. He wants to rent out an entire movie theater to play Reefer Madness and House On Haunted Hill. A double feature! More time to get him to like me, time, I might add, that I’m going to need.” He spoke quickly, walking to the whiteboard to mark down the new things he’d learned about Haru. So far, there were two sentences. ‘Loves water,’ and ‘weird love for mackerel’ were among the things Gou had written. 

“What? Why would he pick such terrible movies?” she asked, furrowing her brow. Rin seemed excited, definitely. It’d be cute if she didn’t need the money resulting from it. 

“We talked about what movies we hated the most and we couldn’t agree on which was worse.” 

“Ugh, Reefer Madness for sure.” 

“That’s what I said!” Rin exclaimed, leaning forward on the back of his chair. “Anyway, what do I wear to the movies?” 

In the end, Souske had dressed him in a loose fitting tank top under a grey sweater and skinny jeans. He’d thought how much he looked like some teenage douche bag, but Souske wouldn’t hear any of that noise. ‘I can’t believe you’re complaining after I spent hours trying to figure out what rich kids wear,’ he grumbled angrily until Rin finally said he’d wear the damn thing and took off to the theater.

Strangely enough, when he walked up to the building there was a line. He remembered Haru saying he’d rent the entire thing out so there wouldn’t be anyone else there. There shouldn’t have been so many people. 

Seconds after taking his place at the back of the line, Rin felt someone grab his hood and drag him into the alley behind the theater. “Shit-” he’d exclaimed. He knew he shouldn’t have worn rich kid clothes. Now he was being targeted for being privileged, go figure. 

“Quiet down, will you? I think the owner told someone that I would be here. Hope you don’t mind missing the movies.” 

“Haru?” 

“Yes.” 

“Christ, I thought I was gonna get shanked.” 

“Why would I shank you?” 

“No, I didn’t kn- Ugh, forget it. I’m not upset about the movie. We can just do something else.” As Rin said this, Haru appeared to be thinking, contemplating something with a seriousness mildly more intense than his usual expression. 

“I have something better we can do, anyway.” Haru finally said, walking further into the alley. Even as Haru turned his back to him, Rin could take the hint that he was supposed to follow. Trailing a few steps behind Haru, Rin said nothing. He waited for him to talk, which he didn’t. 

He knew the awkward silence had to end or the date would tank; but just as he opened his mouth to ask Haru a question, he stepped up to an old, abandoned looking bank. There were boards on the windows and door, vulgarities graffitied in bright colors all over the grey stoned it’d been built in. Above the door, it read in engraved lettering, “Tachibana Bank, est. 1919”.

Rin couldn’t imagine how an abandoned building could be a good idea for a fun date, but apparently Haru was incredibly excited about it because he was already tugging the corner of the board in one window. 

“You coming?” he called as he slipped under the board, which was apparently more flexible than Rin originally thought, and disappeared into the building. It seemed like a stupid idea, but Rin followed suit. As he picked up the board, he realized that it wasn’t wooden, but a thin plastic. 

Ridiculous, he thought. That doesn’t protect the building from anything at all. The inside was dark and, as far as Rin could see in the darkness, empty. The gentle light from between a crack in one of the boards shone in, leaving a stream of dimming, sunsetting light shining onto a painted portrait of a cherry blossom tree in full bloom. As a painting, it was beautiful, wonderfully done with exceptional detail. 

 

Still, though, he couldn’t understand why Haru had brought him here. Where was Haru, anyway? He’d since been swallowed up by the dark of the building, floating around somewhere in the blackness. “Haru?” Rin called, still eyeing the painting. 

“What?” Haru’s reply came from directly behind him, causing him to jump and yelp in surprise. No sooner than Rin making a shrill, screaming noise did Haru laugh. “Manly.” 

“Whatever, what’re we doing here?” Abandoned buildings and young adults never worked out in horror films. 

“We’re going on a date.” Haru replied, stepping over to the cherry blossom painting. At first, Rin thought the other was admiring the artistry, but then he raised his fist and knocked against it. 

What the actual fuck? Gou was right, this kid was off the wall. But two million dollars is two million dollars, and they’d all decided that they could get away with that. Even more shocking than Haru knocking on the painting, was when a slightly muffled voice came from behind it. “What’s the password?” What kind of thug shit was this rich boy into? 

“Nagisa, we’ve already discussed, we don’t need a password.” 

“Haru!” the voice whined, earning an eye roll from Rin’s date and a confused head tilt from the redhead. 

“Jesus fucking- fine. The password is Pacific.” 

“Thank you.” With that, the painting came off the wall as if it were a door. Behind it was a new source of light and a set of stairs behind a short, blonde male who couldn’t have been more than eighteen. He didn’t even glance Rin’s way. “Thought you had a hot date, huh?” 

“Yeah, he-” 

“It’s okay, I get it! People only wanting to date you because you’re famous and all kinda kills the mood but you need to get laid SOMEtime, Haru!”

“Nagisa-”

“If you want, I know a hooker- er, ‘male escort’- who owes me a few favors, I could call him and- hey, who’s the ginger?” 

Rin’s face had flushed at the speak about prostitutes, and he now wore a dumbfounded expression as the blonde tipped his head at him. “That,” Haru sighed, putting his hand on the door/painting. “That’s my date.” 

“You brought him back here? Wow, must be serious. When’s the wedding?” 

“Nagisa,” Haru grumbled, pouting lightly. There wasn’t as much light as Rin would have hoped, but he could swear that Haru’s face had gotten the slightest bit redder. If he wasn’t so focused on the job, Rin would have thought it was sort of cute. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll quit picking on you. For now. Hey, new guy, come here.” As soon as Rin stepped forward, Nagisa put his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out. Though he looked short enough to be a child, his arms were large and Rin had no doubt in his mind that Nagisa had no problems defending himself. “What’s your name?” 

“I’m Rin, nice to meet-”

“How did you meet Haru?” 

“I… We met at the pool?”

“Good deal, good deal. What are your intentions?” 

To steal a portion of his money and make like an absent father. “I don’t know, honestly,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I suppose I just want to get to know him.” 

From beside him, Haru grabbed his arm and started past Nagisa. “You can quit interrogating him now. There were people and paparazzi all over the theater so we came here instead.” 

By the time he finished the sentence, Rin was being led down the stairs. The source of the light at the end of the stairwell was invisible, though he heard laughter and some television show with so many hyperboles it must have been a cartoon. Behind him, he heard the painting hit the wall again, then Nagisa’s footsteps as he hurried down the stairs. 

The entire situation seemed increasingly shady to Rin, but he would endure it for the sake of money, his retirement, and his teammates. However, he somehow felt more at ease when they hit the last step. The place was huge, especially for some hidden basement underneath a turn of the century bank. The floor was carpeted in a creamy white that meshed well with the blue walls covered in movie posters ranging from Easy Rider to Transformers. An old, brown-orange, beat up sofa was in the center of the room facing a colossal flat screen displaying an old Scooby-Doo cartoon. The fridge by the stairs was newer, a chrome finished machine that probably wouldn’t fit into Rin’s apartment, let alone his kitchen. 

Awestruck, he looked around in wonder as Haru walked to the couch. Leaning over the back, he addressed the two men sitting on the cushions. “Miss me?” 

“Oh, hey Haru.” One, a brunette said in a welcoming tone. 

“Hello, Haruka.” 

“I’ve told you that you don’t have to call me that.” 

“It feels weird not to.” 

Before Rin could step forward and introduce himself, Nagisa ran past and leapt over the couch, landing on the raven haired man who might have been wearing glasses. Rin couldn’t make out much else. “Haru brought his date!” 

As soon as the words left his mouth, all the figures in the room turned to face him. He learned that he was right about the glasses dude, but he couldn’t find his voice to greet them when the brunette stood. Somehow the large grin on his face didn’t match his bulging muscles or way-above-average height. The guy scared Rin, though he could tell by the look on his face that, unlike Nagisa, he couldn’t hurt a fly. 

“Nice to meet you! My name’s Makoto, and this is Rei. I’m sure you already met Nagisa. What’s your name?” God, why did he have to sound so welcoming, it freaked Rin out even more. 

“I’m Rin.” he replied, fighting the nervousness from his smile. Nagisa stayed seated on Rei’s lap, arms snaking around his shoulders as he turned his head to look at Rin. 

“How long has Haru known you?” 

“Don’t bother, I already asked. He seems cool.” Nagisa hummed, nestling his face into the crook of Rei’s neck. They seemed close, Rin noted, and it felt voyeuristic to keep his eyes on them. He nodded, keeping the same smile, then looked to Haru. He whispered something into Makoto’s ear, then started towards Rin. 

“You want a drink?” 

“Sure. What’ve you got?” 

“Whiskey, rum, vodka, hard cider, hard lemonade, schnapps, wine and-” 

“Anything not alcoholic?” Rin didn’t drink if he could help it. Generally, he would get drunk and do stupid things. If he didn’t act out in sudden bursts of anger, he usually ended up with his tongue down someone’s throat. The last time he’d gotten completely plastered, he’d woken up in Nitori’s bed. The morning after was awkward and damn near heartbreaking when the grey haired male shakily told Rin that it was fine, he understood why Rin had to leave so quickly. 

“Well sure, we have to mix our liquor with something. That’s no fun, though.” Call it peer pressure, or maybe call it part of the job, but Rin simply nodded. 

“One drink should be alright, right?” 

“Right,” Haru chuckled, smirking lightly. Somehow, Rin felt as though he wasn’t going to cut him off if he wanted another drink. He’d just have to suck it up, he told himself. He’d just have to be the responsible adult he was (sometimes) capable of being.


	7. Paralyzer- Finger Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day! 
> 
> Also, I give you the gift of smut. Haru, you little minx.

After seven drinks, Rin could hardly see straight. So far, the night was going great. Haru’s friends were kind to him and told him stories about Haru (much to his blushing protests). As it turned out, Makoto and Haru had grown up together; both coming from rich families. Nagisa was a friend who was, despite being only in his twenties, very well known in the criminal underground, making hundreds of dollars each day through activities he flatly refused to discuss. Rei was completely penniless but had fallen in love with Nagisa. After the blonde pestered him for weeks to give him his number, he finally gave in and seven months later they were still with each other. 

It bothered Rin to no end, their kindness. It wasn’t that anybody was being overly nice, in fact Nagisa’s playful insults and attitude was a great source of laughter for hours. The thing that bothered him was the fact that they’d accepted him right off the bat, they instantly trusted him not to hurt their best friend, which he was planning on doing. Usually, he had no problems with conning people, but this time it made Rin feel bad enough to drink more and force himself into pleasant conversation. 

“And that’s why I’m not allowed at any Kohl’s store.” Nagisa finished after a long story that had to do with drugs, money, and heartbreak. Mostly drugs. Beside him, Makoto and Rei laughed as Haru curled into Rin’s side. It took the redhead by surprise but by this time, his drunken mind didn’t stop him from snaking his arm around Haru’s shoulders. 

“Okay, but why did you do it at Kohl’s of all places?” Rei asked, earning a blank stare from his boyfriend. 

“Why not?” 

“Nagisa.”

“Oh god,” Makoto laughed, shaking his head. “If you think that’s fucked up, you should hear how we became friends!” 

“Didn’t it have something to do with your family’s bank?” Haru asked just before hiding his face away in Rin’s hoodie. Unable to help it, the redhead blushed and glanced away in embarrassment. This kid was cuddly when he got drunk. Nobody else seemed to notice, because Makoto continued. 

“Yep. You were there, Haru.”

“I’m not telling the story.” 

“I figured as much,” Makoto said with a warm smile, as if he was used to Haru passing things off when he could. He probably was. “Anyway, it was right after I’d turned 18. My parents told me to swing by the new branch so they could talk to me about running it and since Haru and I had been here in the hideout, I brought him along. Wrong idea, because that’s the day Nagisa and his yuppies decided to hold the place up and Haru wasn’t going to have any of that shit. He walked right up to him, told him that his method was more than a little rusty, and then he and Nagisa got into a heated argument about what he was doing wrong. Fast forward twenty minutes and we’re all getting a drink at the bar across the street and to this day, I’m still not sure how that happened.” 

“Me either, now that I think about it.” Nagisa hummed, tapping his index finger on the tip of his chin innocently. It was a strange story, one that Rin wasn’t sure if he should laugh at or not. Still, he remembered what Makoto said about the bank. 

“Wait, so if this is your family’s building and the bank is still in business, why is it abandoned?” 

“Oh, during the prohibition, my grandfather was selling moonshine out of the basement,” he lifted his arms to gesture the room around them. “This was the speakeasy. Anyway, before they lifted the ban on alcohol, he moved locations to keep the heat off of him. This place was kept in the family, though, just in case we ever went broke and needed to rent it out. My parents turned it over to me once I was 18 and I turned it into what it is now.” 

That wasn’t too shabby of an idea, Rin admitted. Nodding, he offered a small smile. “So the outside is just a front?” 

“Of course, it doesn’t have a back door or anything.” 

“No, I meant something else-”

“I don’t do fronts,” Nagisa said with a judgmental frown. “But if you’ve got cash, I’ve got anything you ne-” 

“That isn’t what he meant either.” Haru said simply, raising his head from Rin’s shoulder. “He meant that it’s all an act.” When Rin sent a thankful glance back to Haru, he saw the other male smiling gently, presumably loosened up from the drinks coursing through his veins. He looked calm, serene. 

“Yeah,” Rin chuckled, unable to take his eyes from Haru’s. “Yeah, he’s got the idea.” 

Leave it to Haru’s friends not to notice when Haru was snuggling up to him, but sure as hell they noticed that. They all got quiet, glancing from one to the other as they silently thought of what to do. 

Makoto was the first to stand. “Well, this was fun but I’ve got to go,” he explained, ever present smile on his lips. Nagisa and Rei followed suit, nodding in agreement. 

“Yeah, someone texted me an hour ago asking for a favor. Speaking of which, if I don’t see you guys again-” 

“Don’t talk like that.” Rei huffed before glancing back to Rin, who only just tore his eyes from Haru. “It was nice to meet you.” 

“Yeah, yeah! Be good to Haru, alright?” Nagisa countered as he made for the stairs behind Makoto, pulling Rei behind him. And then they were gone. The only substantial sound as Rin looked back to Haru was the television. The cartoons were still going as Tom and Jerry ran around the screen, chasing each other but it was all background noise to Rin. He simply couldn’t focus as Haru shifted his weight onto his arms and pulled himself up to meet Rin’s level. 

Throat suddenly dry, Rin caught Haru’s gaze again. Maybe he was drunk, but the only thought his mind could process was the same thing he couldn’t stop himself from saying aloud. “You have gorgeous eyes.” he said, eyelids suddenly very heavy. Haru tipped his head and Rin half expected him to smirk but instead the raven haired male blushed though his face was neutral as ever. 

“We’re alone, you know. You don’t have to keep up the act of hopeless romantic.” 

“Who said it was an act?” Rin laughed, wrapping his arms around the other’s waist to tug him closer. Something in him knew that this wasn’t right, that when marriage was involved in a con you never, ever, under any circumstances, have sex. So many things could go wrong. His main worry was that he could be used as a one night stand and that would blow the whole operation as had happened once to Seijuro. 

Still, he didn’t care. He couldn’t bring himself to stop Haru’s lips from pressing against his own. Pulling away was out of the question by the time he realized their tongues were meshing together and he realized that he shouldn’t be enjoying the way Haru’s mouth tasted like bourbon and the candy Nagisa had been passing around an hour previously. Too far gone to protest against himself, Rin’s hands grabbed Haru by the shoulders and pulled his body closer, turning slightly to pin Haru against the back of the couch. 

Haru moaned gently, freeing his arms just enough to wrap around Rin’s back and grasp at that stupid, douchey hoodie that sagged from his body. It suddenly felt too hot for Rin and without detaching his lips from Haru’s, he managed to shimmy the grey sweater from his body, discarding it onto the floor. 

Haru could have grabbed onto the tank top, but it didn’t seem to interest him as much as running a hand up to Rin’s hair as the other went beneath the shirt to caress Rin’s skin. In response, Rin growled lightly and sank his teeth into Haru’s bottom lip, earning a soft moan of approval. 

Shit, that was hot, Rin silently thought, grinding his hips down against Haru’s own with an almost animalistic consistency. Beneath him, Haru whined gently and pulled his lips away in favor of hiding his face away in the crook of Rin’s neck, peppering it with gentle bites. “Taking- too long.” he muttered as Rin gyrated against him particularly hard. “Get naked.” 

“You’re straight to the point, aren’t you?” Rin mused in a voice that was supposed to be teasing but instead was shaky with arousal. The other raised an eyebrow and pulled away. 

“Would you rather do it with clothing on? You might get them dirty.” As if to make his point, Haru slid his own shirt off and reached for the hem of Rin’s own. “That is, unless you don’t want to do this.” 

Oh god, did Rin want this. Without any further protest, he put his own hands on Haru’s to help lift the tank top and it was gone before he had any second thoughts. Now as he pressed against Haru to kiss him again, it was all bare skin against bare skin, fingers grasping at one another’s backs in a fight to get closer. 

Having Haru’s hands on him only lasted so long before he felt his fingers fumbling with his pants button. Suddenly Haru’s lips were off of his and he was puffing an irritated remark about how Rin’s button wasn’t cooperating. 

Unable to help it, Rin laughed lightly and deftly unbuttoned his pants for Haru, then worked on his partner’s own pants. Fervently, he pulled the jeans from Haru’s waist and sank to his knees before him, leaving kisses against his shirtless skin on his way down. Every so often, Haru would make a small, pleasured sound but they were nothing compared to the moan he made as Rin worked his lips over the thin fabric of his boxers. 

“Lube,” Rin sputtered, urging Haru’s boxers down to his ankles with the pants he’d previously removed. Haru leaned forward and reached behind Rin to grab the bottle of KY on the table where Nagisa had previously been sitting. He hadn’t noticed the blonde put anything on the table, but then again he hadn’t been paying much attention to begin with. 

He definitely liked Haru’s friends. 

Rin placed his hands on Haru’s thighs and pushed them apart, which the other complied with eagerly. While coating his fingers generously with the gel, his lips pressed to Haru’s innermost thigh, his eyes peering up into those deliriously gorgeous pools of blue that were half lidded, staring back at him with the same lustful gaze. 

Slowly, a finger pressed against Haru’s opening. Rin watched for any sign of protest and when Haru nodded an acceptance the digit was forced inside of him. With a small sounding groan, Haru bit his lips together and lifted his hips the slightest bit, forcing Rin’s finger to the knuckle. 

Rin didn’t think having something up his ass could have been comfortable for Haru and in an attempt to make the transition easier, he wrapped his lips around the head of Haru’s cock, swiping his tongue over the slit. As soon as Rin‘s finger began to move inside of him, Haru stopped holding back every sound he made and let himself moan. The sounds Haru made spurred him on, thrusting his finger and parting his lips wider to take Haru deeper into his mouth. 

By the time Rin had a second finger inside of Haru, he was a moaning, whimpering mess. His pretty blue eyes were clouded with want, fixed on Rin, and half lidded and Rin swore he’d never seen Haru blushing so hard and all of these factoring together made him want Haru even more. 

Hollowing his cheeks, he took Haru to the back of his throat and forced himself not to gag as he bobbed his head, taking him over and over and over again. The almost promise of a sore throat was more than made up for with each needy whine that left Haru’s lips, even the ones that he choked on or held back. 

“C- close,” Haru finally stammered, running his fingers through his own dark hair, as if in a panic as he watched Rin. “Hurry, I need…” He trailed off then, face growing redder as he turned away from Rin. 

Removing his fingers, Rin pulled his mouth away from Haru’s dick and began to crawl back up his body, hands grasping at his hips. “Lie on your back,” he instructed. If he’d learned anything about Haru and how stubborn he was, it was all forgotten the moment he did as Rin told him to and reclined onto his back. 

Haru’s eyes stayed locked onto Rin’s own as he made his way between Haru’s legs and finished inching his own pants down just enough to uncover his aching erection. He pressed the tip of his own prick against Haru’s loosened opening and asked, “Are you sure you want to do this?” 

“Aren’t you?” 

“Well, my dick’s hard and I took my pants off, I think the logical answer would be yes.” 

“Then shut up about logic and fuck me,” he hissed impatiently, gripping Rin by the shoulders and pulling him against himself. In response Rin slowly eased himself inside of his partner’s warmth, earning a low whining sound from the other. For someone who was usually so stoic and quiet, Haru was loud in bed. Er… Couch. 

Rin’s hand gently caressed Haru’s thigh as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his collar, biting just slightly as he brought his hips back then snapped them forward. In response, Haru gasped and trailed it off with a loud cry of pleasure, nails digging themselves into the skin of Rin’s back. 

When Haru arched his back, Rin found that he could force himself deeper, and that Haru’s wet, warm depths opened up for him each time he spread his legs wider than the last. Each movement he made inside of Haru sent a wave of pleasure up his spine like ripples from water drops on a calm lake, intensified. It wasn’t until Haru’s nails broke his skin accompanied by a yelp that he realized how hard his hips were thrusting into him. 

“S- sorry,” he panted as he forced his hips to slow. In response, Haru shook his head and buried his face into Rin’s shoulder. 

“F- fuck me harder like before,” Haru pled, twisting his fingers into Rin’s sweat dampened hair and pulling. Rin already felt the bruises of his hipbones meeting Haru’s so passionately but he found he’d since become putty in the other’s hands. Desperate to please Haru, Rin’s hips began to slam into him again, drawing whimpers and moans so loud that he was sure Haru’s throat would be raw by morning. 

His own moans were absorbed by the skin of Haru’s shoulder, which he’d bitten down on specifically to muffle himself. Even if he hadn’t done it, he was sure Haru’s cries of ecstasy would have easily covered his own groaning. With each movement, Haru seemed to get louder and louder, his hips rolling into Rin’s own more and more desperately. 

“Close,” Rin finally choked out against Haru’s trembling skin. The hand twined in his hair pulled tighter and forced his face away from Haru’s shoulder just so he could look Rin dead in the eye. 

“Cum inside,” he breathily moaned. The way he said it nearly sent Rin into a frenzy. The wet sounds of sweat slicked skin against skin sped up and before he knew it Haru was gasping and his eyes were fluttering shut, lips parted in a perpetually silent scream as he came. 

Seeing Haru in the throes of passion pushed Rin over the edge and just as his thrusts became sloppy, Rin came inside of the other, groaning and growling as he clenched his teeth together. Just as quickly as it came, his buildup died down and he pulled himself out of Haru, biting into his bottom lip. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, reaching down to run his thumb over the bruises that were already beginning to form on the inside of Haru’s thighs. With a shrug, the latter twisted his torso lightly and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket, slipping one between his lips. 

“You’re fine,” he said as he sparked the lighter and took a drag. He exhaled as he laid his head back down, looking up at Rin as if he expected him to say something. 

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Rin finally said into the pending silence. Haru merely nodded and took another drag. 

“I don’t, usually. Just after sex and fist fights.” 

“I take it you counted on one or the other happening tonight.” The only response he got was a tired smirk from Haru and it occurred to him, Haru had just used him. He’d planned on using Haru in a completely different way and god damnit, he wasn’t used to this. He wasn’t used to being someone’s target, it’d always been him targeting everyone else. 

Lying beside Haru, Rin realized that since Haru had used him, it wasn’t unlikely that he’d only been a one night stand. Anxiety of ruining the entire job filled the core of his very being and he forced a calm expression onto his face as he asked, “You gonna call me in the morning?” 

“Calm down,” Haru replied, wrapping an arm around Rin’s waist, careful not to burn him with the cigarette. “We can pretend I was expecting a fist fight if it makes you feel better.”


	8. Youth- Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to update!   
> I swear, I have literally every chapter planned out but I got uber busy and then writer's block and just hhhhh   
> Have this sloppy ass writing to make up for it.

The next morning, Rin woke up beside Haru. It was a pleasant sight, he thought to himself. He looked so peaceful with the way his lips were gently parted, snoring so gently that it could only be heard if you listened for it. The television had been turned off at some point in the night, leaving the room silent. 

Rin knew that if this had been any other circumstance and not a job, he could slip out unnoticed, never to speak to Haruka Nanase again. On one hand, thank god he’d never have to deal with this difficult little fucker again. On the other, he kind of wanted to keep dealing with him. For the money, of course, he told himself as he sat up. 

Pounding headache in place, Rin pressed his fingers to his temples and rubbed small circles in an attempt to calm the pressure against his weary head. He wasn’t sure when Haru stopped snoring, but Rin was sure as hell taken by surprise when he felt a pair of arms circling his waist from behind. 

“Good morning,” Haru groggily hummed, kissing the bare curve of Rin’s shoulder gently. Even the small mumble made Rin’s head hurt more, so Haru would have to suffice with a hum in acknowledgement from Rin. 

After he made the sound, Rin felt Haru’s arms detach from him and the couch shifted as he stood. The redhead turned just in time to catch sight of Haru pulling his pants back on. Rin watched him dress and as soon as his shirt was back on, Haru turned and arched an eyebrow to him. “Not getting dressed?” 

“No, I’ll get dressed.” 

“I was going to take you to breakfast and everything too, but looks like I’m taking off without your slow ass.” Haru teased. Even if he still held the same monotone, Rin could hear the bubbliness in his voice and see the slightest bounce in his step as he started to the fridge. 

Rin took the opportunity to pull his clothes on quickly. As he tied his hair back in an elastic, he asked Haru where they were going. The only reply he got was a shrug as he chugged the contents of a Fuji water bottle. “Wherever you want to go, I suppose.” He answered, discarding the empty plastic bottle into the waste basket. 

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in a booth at Denny’s, discussing the hash browns. Every once in a while, Haru would ask Rin if he needed an aspirin, but each time the response was the same. “No, I’m alright,” was all Rin would say whenever asked. Truthfully, he could have used an aspirin but the image of Momo saying he was manly enough to trudge on through his exhaustion made Rin feel like he should do the same. 

When their food came, both got silent and enjoyed a half of their breakfast in quiet. During the silence between them, Rin couldn’t help but think this was it. Haru was done with him and he’d managed to fuck the entire con because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Whatever happened to the waiting until marriage excuse? 

With each passing second he grew more and more anxious, worried that as soon as breakfast was over, Rin would have to go back to conning people on the street for five to twenty bucks at a time. Haru tipped his head to the side and watched Rin with an unimpressed expression. 

God, he fucked up. 

He ruined the con. 

What the fuck was wrong with him? 

Haru opened his mouth and Rin wanted to cringe. For a split second, he was ready to walk out of the bar and apologize to the entire team a million times over for being such a failure. “We should do this again sometime.” 

“I know, t- wait what?” 

“Unless you don’t want to, that is. By the way, didn’t anyone teach you not to speak with your mouth full?” 

Oh thank god, Rin thought as relief washed over him. “Oh god, I do.” 

“Last night was that good?” 

“No, it not just that, I mean I really like hanging out with you. Date-wise and stuff.” It shocked Rin how easily he said it, almost as if it were true. 

After the sentence left his lips, Haru chuckled and finished the last bite of his food. “And stuff,” he agreed, taking a sip of coffee from the mug in front of him. 

After Haru wrote his number down on the back of Rin’s hand, the redhead felt secure enough to head back to the office. He was glad that he didn’t manage to ruin the con, and even more glad that his relationship with Haru progressed if only /because/ of the con. There would be no other reason, Rin had to remind himself after this began to feel like a real date. 

Shuffling along the sidewalk, he had to remind himself more than once that the excitement in his stomach, the butterflies fluttering just inside of his abdomen were all a result of the knowledge that the con was going well. There was no other reason to be excited, after all. At least, that’s what he kept repeating to himself on his way to the office building.

There was no reason to be overtly excited, he thought as he greeted the receptionist to the downstairs offices. 

Haru was just part of the job, he reminded himself as he started up the staircase’s dreary, artificially lit atmosphere. 

There was absolutely, positively, no real emotions involved in this job, he thought as he came to the top floor and strode towards the office door he’d come to know so well. He wasn’t going to get hurt. If anyone was going to get hurt, it’d be Haru. The thought made his chest ache lightly and he told himself that the sting was only his imagination, there was no way in hell that he would actually feel guilty for giving himself a better life. 

As he opened the office’s door, he was met with a sight similar to the last time he walked in unannounced, only this was intensified. Before, Gou and Momo looked as though they were about to share a kiss. Now, though, they had definitely locked lips. 

“My, won’t Mr. Thompson be upset to hear about this?” Rin mused as he stepped inside, disrupting the romantic ambiance eminating from the pair. At the sound of his voice, Gou shoved Momo away and spun around, ignoring the yelp coming from her coworker as he fell to the ground. 

“Rin!” she damn near yelled, half out of anger and half out of surprise. Face reddened considerably, she continued grouching at her brother. “Where were you last night? I called, I texted, I-”

“You were in the same position you put me into.” 

“What do you mean?” she demanded, eyebrows knitting together. It sometimes worried Rin, how she could look so intimidating, just like their mother. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Going on a date with Haru and disappearing from the face of the earth, disregarding any and all communication with home base.” 

Gou opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when she realized Rin was right. Just as Momo finally pulled himself up from the ground and stood behind her, the girl eyed her brother, then slammed her hands down on the table. “You fucked him!” 

Rin watched Momo’s eyes widen as he sputtered, “Whoa, wait-”

“You don’t have any proof!” 

“You’re wearing his shirt!” Sure enough when Rin looked down, his shirt wasn’t the same color or design as when he left the office the night before. It was tighter fitting and blue now, the same blue that… Haru… had been… wearing. Shit. 

“You know,” he began, stammering for some excuse or another. When nothing comes to mind, he exclaims “Shut up!” 

His sister’s face fell and for the slightest moment, he was afraid he’d hurt her feelings. As children, their banter was much harsher and he didn’t think a simple shut up was enough to get to her but when he began his apology, Gou interrupted. “Please tell me you didn’t fuck up the entire job. I didn’t join this fucking team again to get this far and-”

“Gou.” 

“I can’t believe you would do this, Rin! You should know better than anyone that Mikoshiba’s rules explicitly state-”

“Gou!” 

“God, you are so /selfish/, Rin-”

“He gave me his number!” 

Evidently, that was enough to stop the girl’s rant. Her face softened significantly as she leaned onto her hands pressed against the table, ignoring the redhead behind her as her hips backed out with the movement. “And you’re sure it isn’t fake?” 

“I doubt it.” Rin hadn’t thought for a moment that Haru could have blown him off. Why hadn’t he? Thinking it over, he wondered if he simply trusted Haru that much. The thought was preposterous, of course, and he finally told himself that he was just incredibly sure of himself. 

/How narcissistic,/ he thought as he took a seat beside Gou. Generally, until this point, he’d been quick to make excuses as to why he felt the way he felt but the notion of Haru actually giving him a fake number? Well, that really /did/ sting, both his metaphorical heart and his ego. 

Gou’s hyperactive demeanor changed as soon as she noticed the defeated look on her bother’s face and instead of reprimanding him like she felt she should have, she took a seat. “You should give him a call,” she suggests in hopes that her worst case assumption was completely wrong. 

Rin considered for a moment and just as Gou began pestering him again, he tugged his phone from his pocket, dialing the number written on his hand. 

While it rang, Rin pressed the speakerphone button, much to Momo’s whispered request. Just as he was about to remind his apprentice that nobody had picked up, he didn’t need to whisper, Haru’s voice came through a series of crackles from him picking up. 

“Didn’t anybody ever tell you about the 48-hour rule?” he asked. Rin wondered to himself if anyone else could hear the amusement in Haru’s voice or if they heard the same deadpan they always had. 

“Well, honestly, I thought you might have given me a fake number.” Realistically, Rin hadn’t thought so until Gou suggested it in the first place. He realized how ridiculous he must look, calling up not even an hour after getting his number and acting like a clingy girlfriend. Why did he let his sister talk him into this? 

Obviously, though, Haru hardly seemed fazed by it and it was easy to come to that conclusion as he purred into the receiver, “Give you a fake number? Nah, you’re worth keeping around. I’ve never met anyone whose tongue can-” 

All in the same moment before Haru could finish his sentence, Gou sent a disgusted look to her brother, Momo’s eyes widened though he seemed intrigued, and Rin hurried to take the phone off of speaker to spare himself from the humiliation of his sister hearing about his sexual escapades. 

Sporting a face as red as his hair, Rin laughed lightly, an almost strangled sounding chuckle bore from nervousness. “Ha. Yeah, last night was fun.” He wasn’t sure what else to say in response. 

“You had it on speaker, didn’t you?” 

“Maybe.” 

“And there were other people there.” 

“Yeah.” 

Rin could hear Haru click his tongue before simply saying, “Well, isn’t that embarrassing for you.” 

“For me? What, everyone knowing that I’m a talented mother fucker?” 

“Shut up, you know what I meant,” Haru said with the tiniest hint of a laugh. Rin couldn’t honestly remember a time where Haru laughed, even chuckled, and the sound was pleasant enough to bring a smile to his lips. Beside him, he didn’t notice the worried look Gou sent to Momotarou as she noticed how serene speaking to Haru seemed to make her brother. 

This was not good.


	9. The Love Club- Lorde

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead I promise!!!!!

Of course, the conversation led to a second date, another night of young adults passing around a bowl of weed and laughing at nothing and everything simultaneously. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, almost like that of his step-grandmother’s house during Christmas when family and friends gather to bask in everyone else’s presence. Of course, his grandma’s house generally didn’t have enough weed to choke a horse, but the general idea was the same.

Also, he didn’t ever feel guilty at her house. Granted, he knew he’d still feel guilty when he went back to the office, but sitting beside Haru made him feel overwhelmingly guilty. The guilt was accompanied by a feeling of worry, underlined fear for himself because he wasn’t used to guilt. Why the hell was he so soft right now? The anxiety of fucking up his entire unorthodox career was intense enough to make Rin feel sick. What if he’d lost it? What if he couldn’t con anymore? The way Rin saw it; he’d either lost his touch in some sort of Space Jam-esque robbery or the butterflies in his stomach meant… Oh god. Either outcome was one that he didn’t want to think about despite the very real possibility of them both. 

He was going to be sick. This was bad. He needed air. As if answering his prayers, Makoto asked if he was alright. “You look a little green, Rin. Maybe you should get some air.” 

“Getting some air actually sounds like a good idea,” Rin replied, standing up. He felt everyone’s eyes on him as he started up the stairs. Just as he got to the top of the stairs, Makoto spoke again though not to Rin. 

“Okay, what did you put in this weed?” 

“What,” Nagisa huffed in response. “Are you suggesting I spiked the drugs again?” 

“You have before.” 

“I recall no such thing.” 

“You just said-” Rin didn’t really stick around after that. He escaped through the door that doubled as a portrait and as he stepped foot outside, he thought to himself that he needed to figure out what was going on once and for all. That way, he could approach the situation properly. 

There was really only one way to accurately assess the situation, he thought as he pulled a broken iPhone from his pocket. A quick melon drop on some unsuspecting bastard would prove one of two fears. If he could con someone and feel no guilt, he’d have to deal with admitting his feelings to himself. If not, then Haru had nothing to do with it and he’d have to accept that he had lost his talent, that he chose the worst possible moment to suddenly grow a conscience. 

His eyes glance around the busy Seattle street, searching for a target. He spotted a woman across the way with two reckless children. He could easily blame it on them, but god forbid that be the straw that breaks her back and sends her into a nervous breakdown. That might actually make him feel guilty initially, sending someone’s mom to the nuthouse over the need to prove himself. 

Yet another person about to pass could potentially fall for the con, but then he looked directly at Rin and asked, “Do you have like five bucks, my car ran out of gas and I have to get my daughter from daycare.” In the end, Rin told him he didn’t have five dollars and the man was on his way, asking the next person. If he was trying to scavenge a few dollars from randoms on the street, he wouldn’t have enough cash for this con to work. 

It was the third person that caught his attention. The man seemed as though he was angry about everything in his life. In one hand he clenched a briefcase and the other held a phone to his ear, which he was screaming angrily at. “No, /you/ listen to /me/, David! I’ve had it up to here with this shit and-” 

With each word the man’s face grew redder and redder. As he came closer to Rin, he shoved at the people in his way, paying no mind to them. Perfect. The man hung up just before Rin glued his eyes to the phone in his own hand, stomach making excited flips over itself with the same adrenaline he felt as each con panned out. The man hardly bumped into his arm and had it not been completely premeditated, the phone likely wouldn’t have fallen from his hand and to the ground beneath the man’s feet. 

He stopped, freezing in his footsteps as Rin sprung into action. “Hey, watch where you’re going! You just stepped on my phone, /after/ knocking it from my hand, mind you!” 

“Well, you were just standing in the middle of the fucking sidewalk! It’s not my fault!” 

“The hell it isn’t!” Rin retorted, kneeling to pick up his phone from the ground. “Great it’s fucking shattered!” he complained, raising the screen so the other man could see. At the sight, he shook his head and turned to leave. 

All of Rin’s yelling had gathered some attention, though, and a few people gave the man looks as though he was a monster. Jackpot, Rin thought as the man’s face sank with some sort of dilapidated pride. “I don’t have the money to get this fixed, man.” Rin explained, stepping closer. Now, the man knew as well as Rin, he had two choices. He could either brush Rin off and look like a prick, or he pay the hundred-and-some-odd dollars to get it fixed like an honorable man should. 

“Fine,” the man spat, facing Rin once more as he frantically dug his wallet from his back pocket. “I have… $100 on me right now.” 

“It’s generally around $120, sir.” 

“Fuck… Alright, if I give you the hundred, can you come up with the last twenty?” The man sounded desperate to leave the situation, much to Rin’s amusement. A hundred dollar bill was thrust at him and Rin sighed, crossing his arms. 

“Hm,” he hummed, tipping his head to the side as though he really had to think about it. “Fine. I can probably borrow twenty from a friend or two.” 

“Oh, /great/.” The man said through a blatantly fake smile as Rin took the bill from his fingertips. “Sorry about your phone, kid.” 

“Yeah, thanks, Mister.” he called as the man started away. One girl muttered under her breath about how rude that man was, earning a hum of approval as Rin began walking back to the bank and the crowd of people disbanded. 

When every witness was gone, Rin leaned against a parking meter and pocketed his broken iPhone. Did he feel guilty? After moments of self reflection and a rush of excitement dying down, he realized that he didn’t. He was as amused as ever. Did he celebrate the fact that he was, in fact, still talented? Or perhaps he should be upset, devastated, pissed off at himself for actually caring about him; for those stupidly pretty blue eyes that showed more emotion than those perfectly, horribly kissable lips. God damnit, Haru. 

“Rin,” /Speak of the Devil/, the redhead thought as he turned to face the other with a slight smile despite the feeling in his stomach, something akin to a calm fear. 

“Hey, Haru. What’s going on?” 

“Nothing, I came up to make sure you felt alright. You feel alright, right?” 

“Yeah,” he lied as his fingers linked with Haru’s. “Yeah, I’m fine.” As Rin caught Haru’s gaze, he could swear that he was about to be questioned; as though Haru saw through his generally solidified fabrication. However, he got a shrug in return as his fingers tightened. 

“Alright. We should get back inside, then.” 

Rin could do nothing but nod and follow the other back through the makeshift window boards; back through the door that doubled as a decoration. Vaguely Rin thought that it was like something out of a fairytale, walking through paintings to enter hidden-away worlds filled with warmth and laughter and friendship. 

“Alright but I’m just saying, in the case of a zombie apocalypse, I wouldn’t want any of you on my survival team. Except for Rin. Dude could just bite the Zombies back with those fucking teeth-”

“Hey!” 

“Heeeeeeey!” Nagisa must have mistaken his interruption as a greeting because he grinned up at Rin and Haru as they entered, hands linked between them. “You missed it; we were just talking about-”

“Zombies?” 

“Yeah, Haru, how’d you know?” The mischief in Nagisa’s eyes had dimmed into wonderment. “Are you a telegraph?” 

“A what?” Rin asked in unison with Makoto. 

“You know, a telegraph! Someone who can read minds and all that spooky shit.”

“You mean,” Rei began with that know it all smirk on his lips. “A telepath.” He paused, probably for some sort of applause. Instead, his boyfriend nods and twists in his seat to face Rin and Haru. 

“Yeah, what he said!” The quirky exchange did little to distract Rin. For the first time, he wondered what others would think of him when he finished the con. Would Haru hate him? Would his friends? The same friends who had now accepted themselves as his own, welcomed him with open arms. He had come to enjoy their company, everybody‘s; but it was only a matter of time until he lost them. As used to losing people as he should have been, the prospect still hurt to think about. 

But this had to be done. 

He needed to get out of the game. 

A few beers later and Haru announced that it was getting late, he was going to walk Rin home. Everyone took a turn saying goodnight, each equipped with their own general quirkiness. After Nagisa had finished wishing Rin and Haru a safe walk, the pair left hand in hand. Night had since fallen over the city, but it was still lit by the fluorescent neon signs advertising businesses and the lamps lining the streets.

Rin couldn’t help but think the lights made Haru’s face look softer though it still upheld the stoic, distinguished expression that came along with his features. Both were quiet as they passed numerous people; businessmen on their way home from work, packs of college age party girls who clung to one another while giggling at inside jokes, men and women of all ages eying the couple with envious and knowing eyes. Rin felt that at any moment, someone would recognize Haru and he’d have to stop looking at him to acknowledge the person but it never happened. Finally, Haru broke the silence. 

“So where are you from?” he asked, casting a glance to Rin from the corner of his eye. In response, Rin shrugged lightly. 

“Well, that’s a complicated question.” 

“How so?” His voice, Rin noted, was soft. He sounded genuinely interested, something that was so foreign to Haru’s voice unless the conversation focused on water.

He knew he should lie to Haru, he knew that telling the truth could get him caught. Still, he didn’t put forth the effort. As it was, he was probably already going to fuck up the con. Might as well be as honest as he could as a professional liar. “I was born in Japan. When I was ten my mom moved us here.” 

“That sounds like a big decision to make. Why move in the first place, especially to Washington from Japan?” 

“When my dad died we couldn’t really pay the bills and an old high school friend of hers offered to help take care of her if we came out this way, they got married and, well, here we are.” Haru stayed quiet for a minute, then frowned. 

“I’m sorry about your father.” His tone drops again, though he doesn’t sound disinterested at all. 

“You don’t have to be. He was a great guy but shit happens.” It was the calmest Rin had ever been while speaking about his father. Recently, he’d decided that there were more important things in life than making dead men proud and with the way he lived, his father definitely would not have been proud of Rin Matsuoka, Matchstick Man extraordinaire. “What about you? Did you grow up here?” 

“My whole life, pretty much. I mean obviously we have the vacation homes in Los Angeles and stuff that I would spend summers at, but this is where I’ve always lived.” 

“You say obviously like everybody has that pleasure.” 

“You don’t?” Rin almost lets his jaw drop in disbelief until he realizes Haru was only teasing. The joke earns a small laugh as Rin shakes his head and then it’s back to being silent. 

Once again, Haru was the first to break it. “Hey, do you want to come back to my place?” 

Rin really can’t think of anything he'd rather do.


	10. Sister- She Wants Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small, miniscule amounts of smut.   
> Lots of angst.   
> Oops.

Haru’s house was closer than Rin originally thought. He assumed that Haru would live in a palace-like mansion on the right side of the tracks, some looming house that would make white picket-fenced yards look like something out of a trailer park as opposed to high end suburbs. 

Imagine how shocked Rin was to learn that Haru’s preferred living quarters was a studio above some karaoke bar in Capitol Hill. “Quick question,” Rin said as he watched Haru unlock the door. “How much is rent for this place?” 

“$850 a month. Why?” For normal people, that was a high price to hear drunken idiots through your floor, but for Haru that was… cheap. In fact, now that Rin thought about it, Haru really didn’t do anything too extravagant. His taste in liquor was just normal R&R Whisky, his apartment was in a not-so-great part of town with a not-so-great view, and his clothes- well, actually, Haru dressed pretty nicely. 

Rin didn’t have time to think about it before he was being pulled inside and into a hastily desperate kiss. It took him by surprise and after nearly losing his footing, Rin caught himself by Haru’s shoulders as he reciprocated the kiss. 

Their lips stayed connected, even as hands desperately grasped at clothes and body parts, frantically removing what they could while stumbling to the bedroom. More than once, Haru would trip, catch himself with a yelp, then pull Rin down to his level to continue the interrupted kiss. 

By the time they made it to the bedroom, shirts and hoodies littered the hallway floor, discarded carelessly in a passionate rush to get one another naked. Almost as soon as they were through the door, Haru was on his back and pulling Rin on top of him by his shoulders. His legs parted to make way for him. A hand slid down to try pushing his pants off, lips still working against the redhead’s hastily. “They aren’t coming off,” Haru muttered against Rin’s mouth. 

With a small laugh, he pulled away to assist Haru in the removal of his stupid fucking skinny jeans. They came off after a bit of work and Rin set his hands on Haru’s hips, fully intending on continuing the kiss. 

It didn’t happen right away, though. He made the mistake of catching Haru’s gaze and wow, had his eyes always been that pretty? His face was flushed and his lips were swollen, parted lightly as his chest rose and fell beneath Rin’s. It was like a spell, a sudden ensnarement that took hold of him and squeezed his stomach until he felt… God, what /was/ he feeling right now? Whatever it was, Haru seemed to reciprocate because his touches got gentler as his fingertips roamed up Rin’s spine, tangled into his mess of red hair. 

The underlying animalistic urge had intensified so much that it was no longer desperation that drove him, but rather need. He /needed/ to have his lips on Haru’s, he /needed/ to cup his face and whisper that he looked “So fucking beautiful right now.” 

It was stupid to say, but it needed to be said. Haru’s response had been a blush as he deepened their kiss once more, parting his lips the slightest bit to greet Rin’s tongue with his own, grinding his hips up to create friction. 

Rin would be ashamed to admit it, but the sound he made into the kiss afterwards was high and surprisingly feminine. It made Haru laugh the slightest bit and instead of being embarrassed like he usually would have been, Rin chuckled with him before dipping his head down to kiss Haru’s throat as he urged his own pants down. 

“Lube,” He said simply against Haru’s skin. The other male shifted to grab a bottle from the bedside drawer, handed it to Rin. Nothing more needed to be said after he’d gotten the bottle in hand. 

Squeezing a generous amount onto his fingers, Rin slowly began to stretch Haru. As the other moaned, he realized that it wasn’t as tight of a fit as it had been the first time they did this, a mere day or so ago. Still, he took his time. He circled and massaged Haru’s insides, pulling moan after moan from his lips until finally, he whimpered “Rin, just fucking do it already. 

“Eloquent.” the redhead replied ad he removed his fingers. Haru snickered the slightest bit and wrapped his legs around Rin’s middle. It should have terrified him how comfortable Haru was with him, or how he didn’t mind pressing his own forehead to Haru’s as he entered. What terrified him was the face that as he eased himself inside of the other, they caught one another’s gaze and neither dared to look away. What terrified him was that as he moved inside of Haru, he would moan and grasp at Rin’s shoulders, never once averting his gaze. 

The scariest part of all, though, was the fact that Rin didn’t do anything to stop whatever this was, he didn’t want to. He let it happen and for whatever reason, he found that being inside of Haru, that hearing the soft whimpers of “just like that, Rin” and “Rin, do that again” were so much more gratifying when Haru’s gaze bore intently into his. 

As if to prove that exact point, neither of them held out long at all. Haru had come first and for the first time, closed his eyes as he came with a scream loud enough to drown out someone’s cover of I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Rin would never admit it but he came as soon as Haru broke eye contact, almost in unison with him while somebody’s voice broke during the line “and when I touch you, I feel happy inside.” 

His face nestled it’s way into the crook of Haru’s neck and Jesus, that could not have just happened. Both tried catching their breaths as they held onto one another, forcing their panting into shallow, even breathing. Haru was the first to speak. 

“Wow,” he muttered, gently ghosting his nails against Rin’s back. Surprisingly enough, he wasn’t having a crisis. He was too tired to do anything but bask in the warmth and afterglow beside Haru. He eased himself out of the other after a minute, earning a small whine at the absence. Again, neither of them spoke. 

Rin’s lips groggily pressed to Haru’s shoulder and with a sigh, the other slipped his eyes shut. “You should stay the night,” he said gently in a sleep-threatening mumble. And then he was asleep. 

The next morning, Rin woke up alone. “Haru?” he called, looking around the bedroom. No sign of his boyf- whatever Haru was to him now. Standing, he shuffled out of the hallway and into the kitchen, unashamedly naked. After all, it wasn’t like Haru hadn’t seen his dick before. 

However, Haru wasn’t there. He didn’t seem to be in the bathroom or the living room, and sure as hell not in the kitchen. Upon closer inspection, Rin noticed a whiteboard contrast against the black refrigerator. “Rin,” it read. “Had to go to an interview. Make yourself comfortable. P.s., I stole your shirt.” 

That explained the absence, Rin thought as he slowly began to pull on some sort of clothing. In the end, he still had his pants and undershirt though his hoodie and shirt were missing. Making due with what he could, Rin stole a banana from the counter, wrote under Haru’s message, “I stole your fruit” and made his way out the door. 

Now that Haru wasn’t underneath him or panting his name, Rin allowed himself to think about the impending doom that potentially came with trying to finish the con. The walk back to the office was long enough for him to reflect and he was thankful for that. The more he thought about it, there was no way around fucking Haru over. Rin knew that Haru liked him, otherwise things wouldn’t have progressed to sleepovers and whatever last night had been. 

How would Haru feel when Rin made off with millions of dollars? How would he feel when he woke up to an empty bed and a lump sum of cash gone? The thought of Haru being upset over him made his stomach drop. The knowledge that he was going to hurt him sooner or later made him feel sick with himself. For the first time, he admitted everything to himself. He admitted that he was a piece of human filth for doing this, he admitted that he didn’t deserve to know Haru.

He admitted that he was in love with Haru and the butterflies he felt when he saw him weren’t from the thought of money in his hands or early retirement, they were from the thought of Haru being near him. 

When he walked into the office, it seemed as though everyone had been waiting for him. Souske looked up at him with his lips pressed in a straight line. Ai gave a slight, almost uncomfortable smile. Gou sat in Momo’s lap and- wait when did that happen? 

“Rin.” As soon as Souske speaks, Gou and her boyfriend(?????) turn their attention away from one another to look at him and once more, he feels put on the spot. 

“Uh? What happened while I was gone?” 

“Well, Gou and I went to dinner, Ai made-” 

“I don’t think that’s what he means,” The silver haired boy interrupted with a small frown. “Right, Rin?” 

“Actually, I was kinda curious about he and Gou, but other than that I meant why is everyone so… Hostile?” 

“We’re hostile?” 

“Not you, you and Mikoshiba are over there in La-La Land. I just mean that as soon as I walked in-”

“I think there’s a problem.” Souske disrupts and Rin can feel himself bristle slightly. “We know.” 

“Uh, what do you know?” 

“That you love him.” And then it was silent. Rin felt as though that the banana he’d eaten was going to come back up and his knees were going to give out. 

“Well,” he finally said as he took a seat just in case his legs did decide to fail him. “You knew sooner than I did, apparently.” 

“Yeah, I figured. You’ve always been clueless.” Souske said with a small chuckle and Rin could tell that he didn’t mean to sound so disappointed but he did. He was a disappointment to everyone. He’d disappointed his team and if his father was alive, he’d disappoint him too. 

“Well, what do you want me to do?” As soon as he asked this, he began to wonder when he stopped giving orders and started taking them. 

Souske didn’t have any orders to give, though. He didn’t know what to do either. With a shrug, he shook his head and stood. “I suppose the best thing to do is ignore it. Pretend that you don’t love him. Either that or drop the con altogether.” 

As he said it, Gou gasped lightly, Nitori’s head snapped towards Souske and everyone collectively looked betrayed as though Souske had suggested disbanding the team. “No,” Gou said as she stood, placing her hands on her hips. “There’s no way in hell that I’m going back to that shitty 9 to 5 job!” 

“Gou…” Rin breathed, watching his sister with a soft face. So she really did hate her job. Her face twisted into a narrow-eyed pout. 

“I hate Mr. Thomson, I hate the constant harassment and jealousy, and I hate the confinement! I’m not an errand boy when I’m here…” She paused slightly to hang her head for a moment before walking to Rin. Hands on his shoulders, she knelt down to his level. Were those tears in her eyes? 

“Rin, listen to me.” Gou instructed, catching his gaze. “Do you remember when we were little and mom used to read those fairytales with happy endings to us? You convinced me to come back here and work with you and I admit that I wasn’t keen on the idea before but now I’m ready to finish this con. I’m ready to have the financial comfort and freedom. This is our happily ever after. Please, I’m begging you, do this one thing for me, despite how selfish it is of me to ask. I’ll never ask another favor from you if you just do this for me.” 

Everybody else’s eyes were on Rin. Their faces were set in the same expression as Gou’s, the one that made them look guilty for wanting such a thing to happen. They were depending on him to make the right call and not for the first time that day, Rin’s stomach churned. “I…” he began, looking away from Gou to scan everybody’s faces for some sort of sign, an answer as to what he should do. He didn’t find anything. 

Rin let his hands rest on Gou’s shoulders the same way hers did on his. “Gou,” he started. As he spoke, he felt a dull ache in his chest. “I won’t let you all down. We’re going to finish this con and live happily ever after. Okay?” For a moment, Rin swore he saw her face soften with sadness until she smiled and pulled him into a hug, muttering her thanks. 

Rin felt like shit. He felt awful and traitorous for what he was about to do to Haru but for once, he knew why Gou originally wasn’t cut out for this kind of work. Falling for the target was painful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is actually almost done. There's a few chapters left (the next one is gonna be great I can feel it in me bones) until the end.   
> Everyone's comments and feedback are so nice and you all deserve kisses on the forehead and fuzzy socks. ♥


	11. Goodnight, Fair Lady- Coheed and Cambria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively titled: How Rin Got His Groove Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's mostly dialogue, and it's pretty short, but it's the moment literally everyone's been waiting for tbh.

For once, Rin finds himself uneager to go on a date with Haru. He doesn’t want to leave his house because he’d rather be the cliché teenage movie protagonist who listens to sad rock music and stuffs their face with ice cream. This wasn’t a normal circumstance, though, and he hadn’t been dumped by the most popular boy in school. 

It had been almost a week since Rin came to all those realizations and he knew that facing Haru would be hard but this was ridiculous. They were halfway through watching the original Amityville Horror and Rin still hadn’t said anything. He was tense whenever Haru moved near him and felt guilty for not reciprocating the same warm smile that Haru gave him. 

This is karma, he thought to himself numerous times. It had to be. He’d done this to Gou before when she’d fallen for a target. Now that he was in her shoes, he felt guilty for ever telling her that she was being ridiculous. 

When Haru shifted away from him slightly, Rin turned his head to glance at him. God, it even hurt to look at Haru, knowing that he was going to fuck him over. “You’ve been acting really strange all night.” 

“Have I?” Rin asked, trying to force the shakiness from his voice and the guilt from his chest. “I didn’t notice.” 

“Mh. Well, if you wanna talk about it I’m all ears.” Evidently, that was the end of the conversation because Haru turned his attention back to the screaming woman on TV. Rin did want to talk about it, did want to tell Haru that he should forget about him for his own good but that would defeat the purpose of everything he’d already done and let his team down. 

Curling in on himself, Rin tried for the millionth time that night to figure out some solution, some proverbial formula that would make everything better, where he could keep Haru and his team’s trust. Of course, he came to the conclusion that there was no such way, but he was desperate for some sort of miracle. 

“What next?”

“What?”

“The movie. It ended.” Sure enough when Rin looked toward the screen, white letters against a black background scrolled up into their disappearance. How long had he been out of it? 

“Oh. Right.” 

“I was thinking Matchstick Men.” 

“What?” Oh fuck, had Haru found out? 

“You know, that one Nicolas Cage movie about con artists?” Rin searched Haru’s face for any sign of a joke or anger, but his face was as neutral as ever. “Have you ever seen it? Pretty funny, It’s about a guy who-” 

“Ah. No, I don’t think I have.” 

“Okay, seriously, what’s going on?” 

And then Rin’s mind began to run wild.. It wouldn’t be difficult to do the right thing, all he had to do was say something. Gou and the others would understand. They would get over it, and there would always be more cons. Right? 

Rin bit into his bottom lip and took one last breath, thought one last “fuck it”, before he opened his mouth in a decision he was sure he’d regret. “Haru, we have to talk.” 

“Breaking up with me already?” he asked, turning back to the television to pick a movie off of Netflix. “And we haven’t even made it Facebook official. Darn.” 

“No, that’s- that isn’t it.” 

“Oh? Do go on, I’m intrigued.” 

And then he began babbling. “Okay so you see- I mean no, I’m… Ugh, my sister- my best friends- but then you- Oh my fucking god, I meant-” He had no idea what he was saying and no doubt Haru didn’t either. Was he having a stroke or something? He paused to take a breath and looked away, still trying to find the right words. 

“Okay.” Haru said, blinking slowly as though trying to process the nonsense Rin had spilled out. “That made no sense. Go slower this time.” 

This was hell. Rin wanted to scream and he knew that he had no one to blame but himself. Usually, he could charm someone into understanding; but this wasn’t usual circumstances. “I’m…” 

“You’re straight?” 

“No! No, I just… I’m a con man.” 

“Oh…” He waits for Haru to slap him, to force him out of the hideout, or even to tell him that he’s scum. None of it comes, though. Rin had braced himself as Haru said, “I already knew that.” 

“I know, I’m so- wait what?” 

“I said I already knew.” And then Haru’s back to flipping through the titles and colorful pictures on the screen. “What about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?” 

“…What?” 

“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a 1953 film starring Marilyn Monroe in which-”

“You /knew/?!” 

“Hm? Oh, yeah.”

“The whole time?” 

“Mhm. You’re pretty good, though, I’ve gotta hand it to you. Also, next time you pull a Melon Drop on some poor guy on the street, make sure your main target isn’t standing right behind you. Ooh, they have Grease on here.” 

“Then why did you- I mean, aren’t you-”

“Please don’t start that again.” Rin couldn’t believe it. Haru was calmer than he was, and at that he wasn’t angry in the least bit. 

“Why aren’t you mad?” 

“Because I think it’s funny.” And that hurt. So Rin was as much of a game to Haru as he was to Rin, the redhead assumed as his chest tightened. 

“I… Funny?”

“Yeah. Hilarious, actually. I can’t believe you haven’t noticed.” That bit caught Rin’s attention. 

Scooting closer to Haru, Rin furrowed his eyebrows and let his frown deepen. “Noticed what?” 

“That I’ve been disowned. Even if I hadn’t noticed what you were up to, you wouldn’t have come up anything anyway.” 

By the time he finished, Rin’s jaw was hanging open. His mouth was agape and Jesus, he felt stupid. How was he supposed too react? He was almost happy about this turn of events, but at the same time, “Why were you disowned?” 

“Because I said I wasn’t going to marry a girl.” 

“Okay, but I thought they were alright with you being gay as long as you adopted or something?” 

“Who told you that?” And then Rin felt stupid. He really did feel as though he was turning into Gou, first with falling in love with the target and then with nervously spouting out a piece of need to know information. He really was on a roll today. 

“Well-”

“Doesn’t matter. Your con’s ruined, so I’d understand if you were done with me.” Rin wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking or not, but Haru sounded almost disappointed. Leaning over, Rin took his face in his hands before placing his lips against Haru’s. 

“If you still want me, I still want you.” Rin muttered as soon as he pulled away, Earning a smile from Haru. For the first time in days, he felt calmer, happier than he had before. It felt incredible to have Haru in his arms and that burden off of his chest. 

“Mmh. I want in on your next con, though. Teach me how to do it?” Rin didn’t say no, despite the fact that he really did want to retire. 

When he made his way back to the office that night, he’d earned an initial look of surprise from Gou and Souske. “Oh, didn’t stay the night this time?” Souske teased in Rin’s direction. 

“At least I’m getting laid,” he retorted, heading straight to his seat. Gou pouted and waved her hand to the door. 

“Are you gonna leave that ope- What the hell is he doing here? Rin, what is Haru doing here?!” 

“I walked here with him.” 

“No, I meant- I just- I mean-”

“You must be Rin’s sister. That makes more sense.” 

Gou’s cheeks reddened and her lips tightened against themselves, but before Rin could thank God that she shut up, Souske spoke. “Why is he here?” 

“He knows.” 

“I see,” he breathed, leaning back in his seat. “That still doesn’t explain-”

“He wants in.” 

“If he knows,” Gou began again with a sigh. “How would we make this work?” 

“With you, of course. The original plan, and we’ll get more. Haru says his family has a lot more in their joint account than originally thought. He has access to over 5 million a year. What I- I mean Haru- figured is that you pretend to marry him, then about three weeks later he withdraws 3 million and each of us make off with $500,000.” 

If Momo had been here, Rin was sure that he’d overreact about the 500,000. Well, there was still time to see that in the morning. With an accomplished grin, he leaned forward on his elbows, taking on the role of team leader once again, abandoning the meek, anxious demeanor he'd adopted recently. “What say you guys? Are you ready to make some money?”


	12. Remembering Sunday- All Time Low

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PRECIOUS BABY HARU  
> I apologize for unneeded angst in advance, but I just kinda wanted to give a feel as to why Haru's relatinoship with his parents is so whacked up. ;3;

Growing up in the Nanase household had always been something special, Haru once said in a sarcastic undertone. He was well aware from an early age that his wealth set him apart from the other children, even at the expensive private schools he attended. One year, he overheard somebody talking about how they’d woken their parents up for Christmas and he couldn’t help but think that if he tried that, his father would bust his lip for disrupting his sleep. 

His parents were less than warm, even when he was a child. He would cry in the middle of the night, only to be comforted by a maid with soft, warm eyes and ghostly white hair. When he got the notion that Grandmothers were kind old women who took care of you, that’s what this maid became to him. 

His Grandmother was the only light in the dreary, cold atmosphere of the mansion. He didn’t see his parents often, and when he did it almost always had to do with a public event. He’d always hated them. He hated the flashing cameras almost as much as the people behind them, screaming at him to ‘smile and look over here!’ Grandma wasn’t allowed at those events, Haru’s mom explained once when he was about five after he’d demanded Grandma be there for him, just in case he needed to get away from the bright, blinding lights. God knew his parents had rejected that request plenty of times. 

On the day he turned 12, Haru had a sneaking suspicion that something wasn’t right. He padded his way into his father’s office, withstanding the freezing cold wood floors against the soles of his feet. “Dad,” he said as he peered inside. 

The only response the man returned was a grunt, followed by “What is it, Haru? I’m busy.”  
“I was wondering if you knew what today was.” He had a nagging feeling that his father had forgotten. 

Mr. Nanase’s head shot up and his eyes widened. “Oh my god!” It was stupid, Haru knew, the happiness he felt about his father’s sudden remembrance. He shuffled all the way into the office, bracing himself for a birthday wish that he so desperately wanted, only to be shoved right past. “It’s Sunday! Our new program launches today-” 

Just like that, the happiness he'd felt silly for feeling was replaced with disappointment he felt even sillier for.

As the man hurried back to the master bathroom, Haru felt his heart sink further with each frantic step away from the office. Perhaps his mother remembered, though she was worse with dates than her husband. With that hope in mind, he found himself slinking into his parents’ bedroom. His mother’s black hair went everywhere and her eyeliner smeared down her sleeping face. Beside her, the nightstand held an empty wine bottle and somehow, Haru knew that his father hadn’t helped her finish it off. 

“Mom,” he whispered, reaching over to gently shake her arm. “Mom, wake up.” 

“Christ,” came her grumbled reply as she buried her head further into the pillows. “Haru, /sweetheart/, mommy’s got a headache. Go play.” The fact that she sounded so bitter towards him wasn’t the part that bothered him, he was used to that. The part that made tears well up in his eyes was the fact that his own mother didn’t remember the day she gave birth to him; either that or she didn’t care. He didn’t know what was worse. 

Defeated, Haru stepped into his bedroom and dressed himself, a task that he’d since taken over from Granny. He left his bedroom just in time to see the old woman walking up the stairs with a red drink in hand, making her way towards the bedroom his parent shared. He met her eyes and before she could say anything, Haru heard his mother’s voice yell from the crack of the door. “Glenda, hurry up with that Bloody Mary, my hangover‘ll be gone by the time you actually get in here!” 

Granny’s eyes were apologetic as she hurried to the bedroom, disappearing behind the door. It hurt, Haru thought. It was painful to know that his entire family had forgotten about him. He hung his head and continued down the stairs. He’d make himself something to eat and then go see if Makoto wanted to come over and watch Reefer Madness for the thousandth time or something. He’d always loved bad movies, finding them to be ironically funny and while Makoto didn’t agree, he endured them for Haru’s sake. 

As he stepped into the kitchen, though, he spotted a mess of brown hair behind the counter, bobbing to The Beatles as it played from the radio on the counter. As he turned the radio off with a click, the bobbing stopped and Makoto stood, eyes wide. “Haru! No, get out of here, you aren’t supposed to- I mean, what are you doing here?”

“I live here.” 

“Oh.. I mean why are you in the kitchen?” 

“I want food.” he said, arching an eyebrow as he made for the fridge, which Makoto threw himself in front of. “Makoto?” 

“Don’t look in the fridge, Haru!” This morning had gone from depressing to downright strange. 

“Why can’t I look in the fridge?” 

“You… You just can’t okay?!” Makoto’s face had since turned red and Haru couldn’t imagine what was in the fridge that he wasn’t supposed to see. 

“Makoto, move out of the way, I’m hungry.” 

“Haru-”

“Why are you here anyways, I literally just woke up-”

“He’s here because I invited him.” Granny said as she entered the kitchen, making for the fridge behind Makoto. His eyes widened but he still moved out of the way and as the door opened, Haru attempted to peer inside, curious as to what he wasn’t supposed to see. 

The woman pulled a cake out of the fridge and slid it onto the counter. “Makoto, do you have the candles still?” she asked, earning a gasp from the boy as he nodded. 

“Of course! They’re-” he pouts, digging in a front pocket. “Uh.” More digging as he furrows his eyebrows. “They’re here somewhere…” 

The sight is so ridiculous that Haru can’t help but release one of his rare moments of laughter, gaining the attention of his friend and Grandma. “I don’t need candles,” he said with a tiny giggle, looking over the cake, touched that they’d thought of him when his own parents didn’t. “I’m okay with just cake.” 

Makoto’s face softens into a smile and he nods. “Good, I think I left the candles at home.” It’s granny’s turn to laugh at that and she nods. 

“Okay, let’s cut into the cake, then.” 

Once she turns her back, though, Haru’s mother is walking into the kitchen. “Glenda, why the hell- why is there a cake and a child that isn’t mine?” 

As soon as he hears her voice, Haru’s smile fades, deepening into a frown when she reaffirms that she forgot his birthday. Haru breaks the silence before Granny can. “it’s Haru’s birthday, ma’am.” 

“No, his birthday is… Oh, of course it is! Happy birthday, Haru!” Her tone was too forced, Haru thinks as his mother leans down to wrap him in a tight hug. “When your father gets home, we’ll go to Chuck E. Cheese.” 

“I don’t like Chuck E. Cheese.” Haru says simply, turning his head to watch his mother’s face. 

The woman lets out an audible “thank god” before standing. “Well, where do you want to go?” 

“The pool.” 

“The pool? Why would you want to go there?” 

“I like swimming more than I dislike Chuck E. Cheese.” He watched his mother’s face falter the slightest bit, hands on her hips. 

“Okay, how about this. Glenda will take you to the pool and tomorrow your father and I will take you to Disneyland. Does that sound good?” 

Haru nods, though he’d rather be anywhere but Disneyland. “Alright, mom.” 

“Great,” she sighs, looking to Granny. “I’ll go upstairs and make preparations. Glenda, if you’ll-”

“I was planning on taking him to the pool today already.” 

Haru couldn’t be sure, but when she says it he swears his mother’s face contorts angrily. “Hm. Always one step ahead, huh, Glenda?” 

The older woman simply bows her head until Haru’s mother is gone. If she’s as angry as Haru’s mother is, she doesn’t show it. The boys get ready and go to the pool, where he and Makoto happily forget the scene in the kitchen. 

That day, he’d done many things. He'd met a boy with striking red hair who asked to race him, he'd watched as his Grandmother gave that same boy the advice she always gave him. That day, he'd also told Makoto he was going to get married at the pool when he grew up. 

Funny how children’s plans don’t stick, he thought to himself as he stared at his reflection. He’d worn plenty of suits in his life, when his parents demanded it, but this was ridiculous. He hadn’t even worn a tuxedo to prom, despite their heavy protests. Even now, if he had the right to do so, he’d probably refuse this stupid monkey suit. Then again, if he had the right to, he wouldn’t be marrying his boyfriend’s sister. 

A knock taps at the door and he calls for whoever it is to come in. Enter his parents, who he really wanted to avoid seeing as much as possible. This really was an important part, though. He forced a smile as they entered. 

“Mother, father.” 

“Haru. My, don’t you look distinguished?” His mother greeted, arms folded in front of her as his father’s arm twisted around her waist. She looked so submissive. She must have been drunk. 

Haru nods softly in response. “Thank you.” 

“I thought you weren’t interested in girls,” his father says. “Or at the very least, not in getting married.” 

“I changed my mind.” He states, looking his father dead in the eye. “I love her.” That wasn’t a lie. He loved her the way Rin did. She was like a younger sister. His father seemed satisfied with the answer either way and nods. 

“Good, I wish you both the best. I’ll hold up our end of the agreement and unfreeze your bank accounts as soon as the marriage certificate is signed.” That’s all Haru needed to hear, and he’s happier that he thought he’d be when Makoto pokes his head in and explains that it’s time for Haru to go. 

It’s an easy escape from his parents, one that he desperately needed. Even to this day, their stares alone made him feel so inadequate; like he ruined their lives by existing. He probably had, now that he thinks about it. As he takes his place at the altar, Haru glances to Rin, who nods gently, then to the falsified priest, someone who owed Nagisa a favor. 

Gou made her way down the isle and Haru had to admit, whatever gown Souske had found looked amazing on her. Whatever Nitori had done with her makeup was incredible. Her hair was- Well, Momo could have done better but she looked nice either way, Haru could recognize that Gou, much like her brother, had distinguished features that were attractive with or without professional hair styling. 

As the girl took her spot in front of Haru, hands finding his own, he noticed her lip quivering. That wasn’t good. “Gou?” 

“Mhm?” 

“Why are you crying?” The girl sniffled and shook her head. 

“I always cry at weddings.” It’s a ridiculous response, one that Haru couldn’t help but chuckle at as the hired minister began welcoming the guests and family. When he looked out to the crowd of faces he thought two things. The first was that Rin looked too excited to be watching his boyfriend marry his sister. 

The second was that his father looked content, at peace. He figured the old man must have felt secure in this decision, that his son was going to do as promised and marry a girl before going on to produce an heir that Haru could ignore as he ran his family’s business, just as he’d been ignored as a child. No way in hell, though. Even if he did decide to have children someday, they’d never know the loneliness and alienation he’d felt growing up in his own household. 

If he did treat his child like that, it was likely he’d feel the need to rip him off for millions and run away with their boyfriend, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this chapter was a lot longer but I cut it in half for the sake of POV shifts oops


	13. Million Dollar Man- Lana Del Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V short PWP chapter because you all deserve it~ ♥

After the marriage certificate was signed and the reception was over with, Haru bid farewell to his family and friends, telling them that he and his new wife were going to the honeymoon suite of some swanky hotel. He really did intend on sleeping there, but Gou opted to go back to the office after they’d made an appearance for the paparazzi to take pictures of them going up the stairs to their suite. 

Gou had since snuck out and Haru found himself passing the time with mindless television and a full mini bar. Being on his own was nothing new, but god was it boring. In fact, when someone knocked on the door he was more than happy to jump up and hurry to greet whatever guest it might be and even happier to see that it was Rin. 

“Wow, how unexpected. A visitor on my honeymoon.” Haru greeted, resting his head against the doorway. 

“I’d make a remark but I’m not into hinting at my boyfriend and my sister.” Stepping inside, Rin takes a glance around and wrinkles his nose in distaste. “Wow, who knew that so many hearts could fit into one room?” 

“As is customary for a honeymoon suite.” Though, Haru will admit, it’s rather annoying. Shutting the door, he finished whatever mixed concoction had been in the flimsy hotel bathroom cup and sat back down on the heart shaped bed that he’d since deemed unsuitable for sleeping. “So why are you here?” 

“Should I not be here or something?” 

“Nothing like that. I was just curious. Miss me?” As he asked, his back arched lightly and he spread his legs the tiniest bit, movements that didn’t go unnoticed by Rin. With an amused smirk, the redhead stepped forward. 

“What are you doing, Haru?” 

“Trying to get laid on my wedding night. Why?” Haru very nearly laughs at the look on Rin’s face, as though he’s internally fighting on whether to blush at the vulgarity or keep his seductive composure. Arching a brow, he motions Rin closer and as soon as he was close enough, Haru grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss. 

Rin held no reluctance as he was pulled down to Haru’s level, lips instantly pressing against the other’s. His hands latched around Haru’s waist and urged him onto his back without detaching from the kiss. He swore he might have felt Haru smile against his lips, at the same time his back arched against Rin’s wandering fingertips that made their way up his sides. 

Their kisses became more fervent as the time went on, the sounds of the television blurred by the sounds of Haru’s hums of approval. It wasn’t that they were continuous, but rather that the occasion Rin’s hands would cause just enough friction in the right place or squeeze the right spot of Haru’s waist, his almost-moans were nearly divine to Rin’s ears, something dreamed up by some otherworldly deity just to make him believe in miracles. 

By the time Haru finally stopped chasing Rin’s lips whenever he’d back away to breathe, his face was flushed and his eyes were half lidded as they gazed up at the redhead hovering over his body. “Your clothes,” he managed in a quiet mutter. “Get them off.” 

“God, you’re demanding.” Rin laughed breathlessly, though he swore his heart grew at how eager Haru was. It wasn’t often that the other male showed enthusiasm so he had to take what he could. First he disposed of his shirt, slipping it from his body and tossing it aside. Once it was out of sight and mind, Rin’s fingertips hooked around the bottom of Haru’s shirt, tugging it upwards with a teasing slowness. 

He couldn’t be sure if it was the warm lighting in the honeymoon suite or if Haru was blushing as he said, “Get on with it, already.” The demand earned a grin from Rin, whose sharper-than-normal-humans’ teeth sank into the skin of Haru’s navel, just above the line of his underwear. When he was satisfied with the whine Haru responded with, Rin ran his tongue over the bitemark and began tugging Haru’s pants down with his boxers. 

Gradually, his bottoms were thrown somewhere near Rin’s shirt, disregarded where they’d remain as such until the morning. Spreading Haru’s legs apart, Rin began the usual motions of taking his cock into his mouth, lubed fingers prodding at the other’s entrance after a moment or two of looking through a complimentary basket of edible panties in Gou’s size and flavored body paints. 

Something akin to minutes pass before Haru gasped “I’m gonna cum,” urging Rin to detach his lips and crawl back up the smaller boy’s body to seal their lips in another heated, desperate kiss. As tongues worked against one another’s, fingers gripping for purchase on each other’s bodies, Rin managed to urge his own bottoms to his knees. It was uncomfortable but damnit, he was eager; and if fingers tangling into his hair as legs thinner than his own wrapped around his waist was any sign, Haru was eager too. 

Taking an extra few seconds to coat his dick in lubricating gel, Rin nipped at Haru’s lip impatiently. The action earned a moan almost as lewd as the one given to him as he eased himself inside of the other, burying himself to the hilt until Haru relaxed enough to grant some movement. 

Rin began to thrust, reveling in the moans that left Haru’s lips and spilled onto his own with each movement he made. “Rin,” Haru gasped, rolling his hips back against the feeling of being full. “Harder.” 

As the demand came, Haru’s legs spread the slightest bit more, making it easier for Rin to obediently comply. His thrusts grew harder and deeper, fueled by the desire in Haru’s eyes boring into his own. Moaning with each movement, Rin promptly found his lover’s prostate, eager to force more and more loud, needy moans with each thrust. 

Haru’s nails dug into Rin’s back hard enough to draw blood when the assault to his gland didn’t let up, accompanied by the redhead sinking his teeth into his collarbone in a last ditch effort to conceal the growls and moans spilling from his lips. The act of being filled over and over again by Rin’s dick had the smaller of the two arching his back up off of the mattress in ecstasy, calling out his lover’s name in time with each plunge inside of him. 

Soon enough, and maybe too soon for Rin, Haru was reaching down to stroke himself, muttering broken statements about how close he was, how he /needed/ Rin to keep doing just what he was doing. The words, like they had so many times before, spurred Rin on until he was gasping for his own breath as he mercilessly fucked the man beneath him, gripping his thighs with fingers so demanding that they left bruises in their wake. Finally, he began to feel the same coil in his stomach that Haru felt. He felt his insides tightening, clenching around his own orgasm as it tried to catch up to the rest of his body. 

What finally pushed him over the edge was Haru screaming his name and releasing between the two of them, hand working desperately over his own cock while Rin continued thrusting in an attempt to catch up. It didn’t take long after seeing the pleasure written into Haru’s features. He came inside of the other, gasping as his mind and body tried to comprehend the explosion of ecstasy. 

The first thing Rin thought as he came down, covered in sweat and Haru’s cum, was that he was incredibly lucky to have shared that moment and every moment before with Haru. The second was that he was covered in sweat and Haru’s cum and needed a shower. 

“We should probably clean up,” he said with a content smile, kissing Haru’s forehead. Before he could stand, though, Haru’s hand was around his wrist. 

“Wait.” 

“Mmh?” His eyes focused on his boyfriend once more and, as it does most of the time, the sight of those dashing blue eyes brings a small smile to his lips. “What’s up?” 

“I have just one thing to ask you.” 

“Yeah?” God, he has butterflies in his stomach. 

“How did it feel to fuck your sister’s husband, brother in law?” 

“Fuck off,” Rin laughs, tugging his hand away and standing while simultaneously kicking his pants off the rest of the way. “Come on, let’s go shower.” Though he hated being taken off guard in any situation, he couldn’t bring himself to be mad about that. He was just as happy as he was while basking in the afterglow, and he remained just as happy as Haru walked past him into the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a few more chapters and then we're done hhhh


	14. Baby, You're A Rich Man too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, sweet, and to the point ending~

“Five hundred thousand,” Haru said as he handed the last stack of cash to Souske. It had been a month since the wedding and now seemed as good a time as any to take the money from his parents’ bank accounts. Of course, he drained his own too but that was his and Rin’s personal extra. “Thank you for letting me work with you.” 

“It’s no problem. Honestly, I thought you’d flake us off,” Souske began, running the tips of his fingers over the stacks of cash in his hand. “But then I noticed how much you really do care about Rin and I knew you wouldn't do that to him.” 

“Oh stop being mushy,” the redhead protested with a huff, arms wound around Haru’s waist from behind. “You make it sound like no one cares for me other than him.” 

“Well…” 

“Don’t say anything else if you value the use of your jaw, Yamazaki,” he laughed, resting his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. His best friend grinned to show he was only joking, and though he knew that he and Haru were leaving soon, everything felt complete, right for once in his hectic life. 

“So where are we going,” Ai asks, leaning back in his office seat, his share of the deal stacked in front of him. He was addressing Rin, and maybe Haru, but his eyes didn’t stray from the $500,000 in front of him. “Whenever Gou and Momo get here, I mean.” 

“Hell, if we don‘t change our ways.” Rin answered with a wry grin. Almost as if on cue, Gou hurried into the office, followed by Momotarou. As usual, she was out of breath and cursing the long flight of stairs leading to the office's floor. 

“Hey,” she greeted everyone with a small wave, earning a unanimous welcome from the others in the room. Once she’d caught her breath, Gou’s hands were on her hips. “I have some good news. We-” 

“We’ll deal with that later,” Ai protests, standing up quickly. “I’m starving and Rin’s taking us somewhere.” Though he knew it was wrong, Rin didn’t tell him that where they were going had no food, and he found Ai’s confusion amusing as the group made their way to an abandoned building outside of Capitol Hill.

He didn’t answer when the group asked why they were breaking into this shitty old bank, and he ignored them when they asked why he was pulling the painting off of the wall. More than anything, though, he reveled in their surprised faces as Haru led them down the stairs to the hideout beneath the bank, complete with cartoons on the large TV and the smiling faces of his friends. 

“Holy shit,” Souske muttered from behind his redheaded friend, complete with Momo’s quiet agreement. 

“You must be Rin’s teammates,” Makoto greeted, smiling as he made his way over. There were introductions and handshakes for everybody as Makoto went around the room. Rin couldn’t help but think about how at ease everybody seemed to be, how comfortable they were with Haru’s friends. Maybe, he thought, they’ll remain friends without me in the picture. 

The thought was bittersweet to Rin for a number of reasons. He didn’t want to leave the friends and family he‘d accumulated through the years, but then again he was more than happy to travel alongside Haru. He told himself repeatedly that it wasn’t like he was never going to see them again. In his travels, he’d make time to come home to Seattle. 

Rin decided, watching Nagisa load a bowl of weed while boasting about how top shelf it was, that he couldn’t handle leaving the atmosphere of this hideout forever. This had become his home and it was easy to tell by the amazement and happiness shining through Souske’s teal irises and Gou’s ecstatic grin that his team, his family, had found home in the basement of the Tachibana bank as well. Even Ai seemed more calm, laid back than the usual high strung and worrisome boy he was. 

Momo’s voice tore him from the hopeful picture before him as someone else’s hands clapped over his shoulders. “What’re you thinking about?” He asked. Though he was behind him, Rin could imagine the carefree grin on Momo’s lips as he asked the question. 

“Nothing much,” Rin replied, his own gentle smile creeping over the corner of his lips. “Just about how happy everyone seems. Your brother would have loved it here.” 

It was the first time someone had mentioned Seijuro without a feeling of inexplicable guilt or sadness fell over everyone around. Instead, Momo simply nodded and gave a short chuckle. “I know he would have. Might not have been happy about the fact that I’m gonna marry Gou.” 

“You what?” Rin’s gaze caught onto his sister, who was happily chatting away with Rei about something he’d never know. “You asked her to marry you?” 

“Well, no. But I’m going to! Someday… With your blessing, of course.” 

 

Rin thought that was the cutest way of asking his sister’s hand in marriage, though it did seem too soon to him. With a toothy smile, Rin turned to face his apprentice. “Momotarou, I’d be honored to have you as a brother in law. So long as it doesn’t happen this quickly. Wait at awhile.” 

Momo hardly seemed to be paying attention, soft gaze fixated on his girlfriend, and right as Rin was about to repeat himself the younger offered a small nod. “Yeah, boss.” 

“I’m not your boss anymore, Momo.” it felt strange to say, almost like the aftertaste of whiskey burning the tip of Rin’s tongue. “You don’t have to call me that.” 

“Well, I want to.” finally, he looked away from Gou to show attentive respect to Rin. “Just this last time.” Whereas mentioning the older Mikoshiba’s name didn’t affect him before, that comment did. 

Eyes watering with what Rin dubbed ‘little bitch tears’, the redhead glanced away with a frown. “Why’d you have to say shit like that, you act like you’re-”

“Like I’m never gonna see you again, yeah yeah.” Momo’s arms were suddenly around him in a tight hug, just hardly shifting the mood. 

“Hey, what are you-”

“I’m gonna miss you, Matsuoka.” 

The statement made Rin’s cheeks burn, only for the effect to worsen as he realized the room had gone silent and Momo wasn’t letting go anytime soon. Another pair of arms wrapped around him, belonging to Ai, then Souske’s and Gou’s. Different variations of “We’ll miss you’s” were passed around, making Rin’s heart swell. 

“Calm down,” Haru said as he came to Rin’s rescue, a glass of something in each hand. One drink was extended towards Rin, engulfing his nose in the strong scent of Captain Morgan and soda. “We’re only going to be in Cabo for a week, then we’ll be back for a visit before heading out to New York.” 

This must have assured the group because everyone peeled themselves off or Rin one by one, allowing him enough room to hold the drink offered by his boyfriend. With a thankful smile, he wrapped his newly freed arm around the other and tugged him close by the waist. The look of surprised that colored Haru’s features was short lived, but damn if Rin didn’t feel his heart leap at the utter cuteness of it all. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say he was kind of almost sorta in love with Haruka Nanase. 

“To Rin,” Souske began, raising a glass of what probably had barely less liquor than Rin and Haru’s drinks. “My best friend, business partner, and the greatest man I know. Hope you have fun in your travels.” As soon as the small speech was over, everyone took a drink of the drinks in their hand. 

“That was fucking mushy,” Rin chuckled to his best friend with a flattered grin. “Didn’t know you were the poetic type. Girls eat that shit up, I bet.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I can still read you like a book, though. You’re welcome.” 

“Shut up,” Rin laughed before attaching his lips to the rim of his glass. How else was he supposed to answer? Haru’s head rested against the ball of his shoulder, simply reminding him of the treasure in his hold, one that he never would have gotten had he not been a con artist, but still a treasure so valuable that no con would bring him the same satisfaction. 

Weeks later, he’d wake up to Haru’s sun drenched, sleeping face and remember for the thousandth time how valuable the man was to him. He’d stand with him in his arms as the ocean lapped at their feet, wondering how he’d ever managed without him before. He’d spend every moment with Haru remembering why he retired in favor of his own happiness. And that was okay. 

Maybe Gou was onto something when it came to falling for the target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah! It's over!  
> I really hope everybody liked the fic, because while it's kinda wonky and not very well written, I enjoyed writing it.  
> If you dug it, make sure you throw things at me at cloningmycat.tumblr.com please? c:


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